While you're busy making other plans
by linnybug
Summary: I know, long title, but this is the official sequel to Learning Curve! Finally! Hope you all enjoy ;-
1. Chapter 1

**This begins at Christmas time, six months after Learning Curve ended. ****All is seemingly idyllic in the lives of Bella, Edward and all their family and friends. But, something will lurk just around the corner – waiting to ruin everything they've built over the past seven years.**

**BPOV**

Christmas time, once again.

I've actually found it's somewhat refreshing to spend my holidays buying presents for my children. There's no more worrying about what to buy my friends or my dad or anything. It's all about these four little angels that live under our roof – and shopping for them isn't honestly that hard. They let me know what they want for Christmas months in advance!

Plus, I have still have Alice and Rosalie as shopping buddies.

Today, we're at Toys-R-Us and searching for what the kids had requested on their rather extensive wish lists. We would have come in earlier, but we all have pretty hectic schedules now. Alice is helping Jasper get his law practice up and running, while I'm working out of my home photography studio when I have the time. Luckily for us, however, Rosalie – who had majored in early childhood development – started her own daycare business.

Not that we ever let her watch the kids for free, but we were happy that the person in charge of our children was someone we know and love.

Today, all seven of them were with Grandmas Esme and Sue so the mommies could shop in peace.

"So…Keely wants a makeover kit and each of the new Bratz Dolls," I said as I wandered down the doll aisle. "And Aina just wants some doll and carriage thing."

"Ethan wants a drum set," Rosalie announced with a disgruntled scoff.

"Oooo, sorry," Alice and I said in unison.

"Not as sorry as I am – or as sorry as Emmett's going to be for suggesting it."

Alice laughed and continued to push the cart in front of her, "I'm glad Aiden's not to that demanding point – yet."

"He'll get there," Rose replied.

"I don't know," I said. "He seems too timid, he's too much like Jasper to be any sort of demanding kid."

"Oh, Jasper can be demanding," Alice said with a salacious grin, "He's just really good at keeping it on the down low."

"Too much information," Rosalie laughed.

We got our presents and made our way out to Rosalie's SUV, now free of all child safety seats for the day. I found a few toys that Owen and Alys would love and some things for the niece and nephews from me and Edward.

Rosalie took us to the Olive Garden for lunch where she and I immediately ordered glasses of Merlot to go with our pasta. Alice held off on the alcohol.

"Oh come on, Al, you're making us look like lushes here," Rose whined as Alice ordered water. "It's not like you're driving."

"No…but it's only 1:30 – bit early for wine, don't you think?"

Rose and I looked at each other, "No."

I looked back at Alice and she was looking at her hands shyly – she was hiding something. She was like an open book sometimes.

"Al, what's up?"

"I…I didn't want to say anything until Christmas," she said. "We were going to announce it in front of everyone…"

Before she finished, Rose and I were across the table, hugging her like maniacs.

"Another baby? Oh, Alice, congratulations!" I cried. "When did you find out?"

"Last month," she said, not able to contain her glowing smile anymore, "I'm due in June."

"That's amazing," Rosalie said, "Now Aiden gets to be a big brother."

We celebrated with some tiramisu after lunch and then went to pick up the kids at Esme's.

All of the families had become accustomed to rotating hosting duties for Christmas – this year is Dad and Sue's turn. It was hard to believe they have been married for five years. But, then again, I've been a mother for just as long – and that was, at times, unfathomable. Especially when I considered the fact that I'm married to Edward, the world's most amazing man.

We made it to Dad and Sue's a little after 1 p.m. on Christmas Eve. Once removed from their car seats, the twins ran directly to their grandparents while Edward and I pulled Alys and Owen out of their car seats. Both of the little ones were ready for naps, and Dad helped us take them upstairs, where my old room had been turned into the nursery.

Alys conked out right away, but Owen wasn't giving up without shedding a few tears. His daddy lay on the bed next to him and soothed him gently with a lullaby until he finally passed out.

**EPOV**

I gently grazed my fingers over my son's face and repeated my mother's little lullaby over and over again until his eyelids drooped lazily over his brown eyes and finally fell – his eyelashes dark against the blush of his cheeks.

I gave him a quick kiss on his nose and got up quietly. I gave Alys a kiss and ran a finger along her cheek to her chin before I sighed contentedly and closed the door quietly behind me.

All that time I spent bedding various girls without a second thought seemed like a lifetime ago. I have four beautiful children and sleep every night in the arms of the woman of my dreams.

I laughed quietly at this thought as I made my way into the TV room to find my twin angels – my little Bellas – sitting on their grandpa's lap watching cartoons. Charlie was becoming quite the softy in his old age. Not that fatherhood hadn't softened me completely – but it was even more of an amazing transformation with my father-in-law. Chief Swan, the enforcer, the intimidating tyrant who tried to keep me and Bella apart was the sweetest, most doting grandfather in recent history. He even put my dad to shame in the mushy department, and that's saying something.

The girls sat quietly in his lap, enthralled by the program, while Charlie watched them in turn out of the corners of his eyes – he couldn't contain his smile. And neither could I. I left them in peace and walked into the kitchen to find my Bella peeling potatoes at the sink while Sue was pulling the innards out of the turkey.

"Anything I can do, Sue?" I asked as I leaned into the counter.

"Well, right now we're just getting stuff ready," she said as she pulled out something that looked gray and kind of gross – I looked away quickly. "Do you want to help Bella peel potatoes?"

"Sure," I replied as she handed me another peeler and I stood next to my wife at the sink.

"Owen finally get to sleep?" She asked as she reached up to kiss me softly.

"Yup, he's a stubborn little bugger sometimes," I said.

"Sounds like somebody I know," she said.

I pretended to be shocked, "Do you mean me?"

"No," she said, her voice dripping with sarcasm.

"I think he's like his grandpa," Sue said as she started to place the turkey in a roasting pan and put baby carrots around it. "But, yeah, he might have a little bit of his daddy in him, too."

Bella chuckled along with her as I smirked at them, "There's nothing wrong with turning out like the old man."

"Nothing at all," Bella said as she reached up and kissed me again.

We peeled the potatoes and then Bella cut them into cubes and put them around the turkey along with the carrots, celery and onions that Sue had put around it. Sue then put some butter and herb mixture under the skin of the bird and popped it into the oven.

"Well, that's it for now," Sue said. "The rest of the stuff will only take a few minutes once the turkey is done – but it should take about two or three hours."

"Well then," Bella said as she took three beers from the fridge and handed one to me. "It's Miller time."

I laughed as she handed the last one to Sue and popped the top of my can as we sat around the table. We sipped our beers and talked for a bit until the others began to show up. Rosalie and Emmett were first – Ethan walked in and sat on the coach, looking a bit put out that his cousins were occupying his grandpa's time. I decided to step in and lifted the girls up and started playing with them so Ethan could have his time with Charlie – after all, it wasn't as if Ethan knew his other grandfather very well.

Rosalie was on the way to take Madeline upstairs for a nap. Currently the youngest of the grandkids, Madeline was only 10 months old now, and we were all excited to give her a great first Christmas. I love that this hasn't become old hat for any of us yet.

Keely began to grow tired of our little game and stood to grab onto Emmett's leg.

"Uncle Emmett! Play with me!"

"Play with you? OK!"

He lifted her above his head and started walking her around the room like she was flying. She squealed with glee and I turned to Aina who was still engrossed in playing with her doll. She was more like Bella – very easy to please. I stroked her head gently and she looked up and smiled.

"Daddy, let's play that I'm a princess and you're the prince who has to rescue me," she said quietly as she stood up and held out her tiny hand to me.

I stood and took it gently while we walked into the front living room and began to play. I spent the next hour battling invisible dragons as Aina sat on an overstuff armchair that stood in as a tall tower – the white blanket wrapped around her was her gown.

The doorbell rang again and my parents walked in with Alice, Jasper and Aiden in tow. Aina jumped off the chair and ran to her cousin.

"Aiden," she cried as she hugged him tightly. "Grandma! Grandpa!"

She flung herself at my parents and my dad took her up into his arms. "Hello Angel! How have you been?"

"Good," she said shyly.

"Your grandpa has missed you terribly; I haven't seen you in two whole weeks!"

"I missed you, too."

"What about me?" Mom asked as she held out her arms to Aina.

"I missed you too, Grandma," Aina laughed as Mom began hugging and kissing her.

I led everyone into the TV room so they could set their presents under the tree. Aina was sitting on my lap with Aiden on hers when more began to join the party. First was Seth, who walked in to the shrieks of joy emanating from my daughters. "Uncle Seth!! We missed you!"

"Oh, there are my little girls," he said as he picked up both of the twins – plus Aiden, who was still in Aina's arms.

I had to marvel at the kid, I think he's gotten taller since the last time I saw him, and he was already approaching about 6' 5" then. He sat next to me on the couch and we continued to watch _Finding Nemo_, when there was a knock at the door.

Everyone looked around, confused. I took an inventory of all who were present and accounted for – my family, my parents, Charlie, Sue, Emmett, Rosalie, their kids, Alice, Jasper and Aiden. That was every person we were expecting to drop by today.

I became highly suspicious as I opened the door. I froze in angered silence at who I saw standing on the porch.

"Hey Cullen, long time no see."

James – standing there with that evil smirk on his face. And, to make matters worse, he was holding hands with none other than Leah Clearwater. I wanted to strangle them both.

"Oh, sweetie do you know Edward?" Leah asked, feigning ignorance.

There was no way she wasn't aware that James knew me – it had to be some kind of trick, there was no other explanation.

"Yeah, Eddie and I go way back. So, you gonna let us in, Cullen?"

"No."

Leah crossed her arms over her chest and tried to stare me down, "My family happens to be in there, Edward. And I have a right to see them."

"You mean the family you haven't spoken to in almost four years?" I spat. "Well, I'll go and see if Sue or Seth want to talk to you, and you can just wait right here."

They were both lunging forward to try and push the door open, but I slammed it shut quickly and locked it before they had a chance. Unfortunately, in my haste to be rid of such disturbing company, I woke the babies up.

"Edward," Rosalie whined, "Madeline hasn't napped this well in weeks! Way to go!"

"Sorry," I muttered as I walked up to try and help sooth Owen and Alys back to sleep. "There were some…unwelcome guests at the door."

"Who?" Rosalie said as we approached the nursery door.

"James – Leah brought him here."

"What the hell is that girl thinking?" Rosalie asked.

"She claimed that she wasn't aware that James knows us, but that has to be bullshit," I said quietly. "This just reeks of a James plot."

"Well, hopefully they'll get the message and just leave," Rosalie replied.

Suddenly, the doorbell rang, "No such luck."

Rose and I went in to the nursery. I managed to get Alys back to sleep, but Owen wasn't having any of it – yet again – so I decided I'd let him up and just put him to bed a bit earlier than usual. I pulled him tight to me and wandered downstairs, not sure of what I would find.

And there they were, in all their filthy glory – James and Leah, in the foyer. However, much to my delight, they were met by the less than hospitable glances of Emmett, Jasper, Dad and Charlie.

"So, you're the one who got Edward into all that trouble, hmmm?" Charlie asked James.

"He got himself into it," James said, "He hit me, you know?"

"I'm sure you did nothing to provoke it," Charlie scoffed.

I tried to slip past, but the two intruders noticed me hurrying away with Owen.

"Cullen! Did you actually manage to procreate?" James laughed.

"Don't you talk about my son-in-law or my nephew ever you little shit!" Charlie snapped, getting in James' face. "You just stay the hell away from my family, you hear me?"

Even James was intimidated by Chief Swan, "F-fine, but you make sure they stay away from me, too."

"Puh-lease," Charlie spat, rolling his eyes, "Now get the hell out of my house!"

I hurried into the kitchen just as Leah was trying to argue, hoping Owen wasn't aware of the dysfunction going on. I turned him to look at me and he grinned – it must be nice to be so young and so oblivious.

The rest of the kids were in the kitchen with the women. Bella rushed over to me to take Owen.

"Did my baby boy wake up?" She asked as she nuzzled his nose with hers – she turned to me then, "Did they leave?"

"Charlie's getting rid of them," I said, kissing her forehead, "He had James shaking in his boots."

"Gotta love that Poppa of ours, right?" She asked Owen who replied with a laugh and a 'Poppa' of his own.

**BPOV  
**

Alice, Esme, Sue and I were in the kitchen, and suddenly I could hear angry voices coming from the front door. I recognized one of them as Edward's and the other one made chills run up and down my spine – it was James. How the hell had he found us?

Seth walked into the kitchen with the twins followed by Rosalie.

"Leah is here, and she brought James," Rosalie said, taking my hands.

"Who is James?" Sue asked as she turned from the oven.

"He went to school with Edward," Esme said, "They were friends once, but now he seems hell bent on making life a living hell for my son and everyone he knows."

Sue turned to me, "I'm so sorry Bella! I knew that Leah was upset, but I didn't think she'd go this far!"

"It's not your fault, you didn't know," I told her.

Once everything had died down, we went back to making dinner but I had noticed Sue was gone. I went to see if she was out in the garage when I heard her crying and talking to someone. She must have been on her phone.

"How could you? Why can't you accept the fact that I'm happy? Doesn't that mean anything to you? Oh, don't give me that! You did know that Edward and Bella know that boy! You did this deliberately to hurt Charlie's family! You are a selfish, ungrateful little bitch and I am ashamed to be your mother! Goodbye Leah!"

I back away from the door and into the kitchen. I hated that Leah was treating Sue like this – she didn't realize how lucky she was to still have her mother and that made me furious. Sue walked back in after she composed herself and I looked up to meet her gaze. She approached me and I held her close, "I'm sorry, Sue. I love you."

"I love you too, Bella."

The rest of our holiday went along swimmingly, especially after Alice and Jasper announced the pregnancy. Rosalie and I still acted surprised by the news, but we had been secretly discussing when we would be throwing a baby shower for her.

All through the happiness, though, I had an ominous feeling in the back of my mind. Something told me that James was not done tormenting me. I hadn't seen him since that dad at the bus stop when he dementedly confessed how much he likes to play this game.

And now we have a family; while most people – even the very juvenile – might take that as a sign to leave us alone and grow up, I got the notion that that fact would make James that much more keen on messing with me and Edward.

I just hoped Leah wasn't foolish enough to give him too much information about us.

**I'm thinking I'm probably going to have this lead to an eventual confrontation between James and Jacob that causes the latter to grow up and move on from his Bella obsession. **

**Thoughts?**


	2. Chapter 2

**Sorry, this would have been out sooner, but I've been sick the past couple of days. **

**Also, the next chapter to "Ghosts of the past" will be up, shortly.**

**February**

**BPOV**

Most of my photos tend to be just my own personal shots that I manage to sell—but today, I was actually called upon by a fan of my work to photography her daughter's wedding. It was an old friend of Sue's who had bought some shots I had taken at the Columbia River Gorge. And now she wanted me to do the one thing in the world I'm not all that fond of doing—take posed photos of bridesmaids in horrific dresses.

At least it was somewhat entertaining at times. The flower girl was cute, even when she pulled her dress up over her head in front of everyone. A lady, who I assumed was the girl's mother, ran up to me frantically, "You didn't get any pictures of that, did you?"

I shook my head and continued to concentrate on the wedding. It was a small party—two bridesmaids and two groomsmen, and only a few close friends and family in the tiny church. But, I was told, the reception would be much bigger. I almost cringed at the thought of trying to walk around and take photos of drunks stumbling about to bad 80's party music. And I really didn't want to accidentally get some shot of groomsman trying to get his freak on with one of the bridesmaids—just the thought of that made me gag.

I was wandering through the crowd, snapping away, when I noticed someone all too familiar—Leah. If memory serves me correctly, that means that HE shouldn't be far behind.

I found my way to the bathroom and decided to collect my thoughts. I could call Edward to come over...but he was at home watching the kids, and I didn't want him to have to make a big fuss of putting them in the car and bringing them here, or, worse yet, calling Esme to watch them while he rescues me.

Even if I know he'd drop everything to be at my side in a heartbeat. I took a deep breath and walked back out to find Linda, Sue's friend, walking towards me.

"Are you getting good shots?" She asked happily.

"Yeah, but I think I'm running out of memory cards; I can run to the car and get some real quick."

"Oh, there's no need," she said. "I'm sure you've got plenty. Have you eaten? You should have some of this wonderful pasta."

"Oh, thank you, but I want to get home and have dinner with my family."

"That's right, Sue said you have just a houseful of little ones—four kids? Wow, how do you do it?"

"I don't know," I replied, "I love being a mom. And, it doesn't hurt that I married the world's most perfect man."

"I see," she laughed, "Well, at least take some of these treats for your children."

She handed me a box of what smelled like cookies.

"Thanks, they'll love these."

I was heading back to where I had stashed my camera bag and a few other things when that creepy, hateful voice came from right behind me.

"Hello, Mrs. Cullen; where's Mr. Cullen today?"

I ignored him and packed my things. I wasn't even going to give him the satisfaction of knowing I'd heard him. That's what he said before, right? He just comes after me and Edward because we react to him. Well, I'm not going to react—I want him to leave my family alone, once and for all.

"The silent treatment, hmm? It will only work for so long, Mrs. Cullen, I know you. I know you won't be able to stay quiet forever."

I kept my cool and finished packing; then I slipped past him and out the door, knowing he'd probably follow me all the way to my car. I unlocked my Prius and loaded my gear in the back. As I shut the trunk, he was standing there, appraising me.

"Nice car, very environmentally friendly...and expensive," he quipped, "But, I guess when your husband's a cardiologist at Harborview Medical Center, he can afford the best."

I hesitated slightly, but continued to open my door and climb into the car. I turned it on and saw that he was leaning down to look through the passenger window.

He made the motion for me to roll the window down, but instead I threw the car into reverse and sped off, not caring if I hurt him in the process. As I looked in my rearview mirror, I saw that he was perfectly fine—and watching me as I drove back towards our house.

The paranoid women in me decided to take a couple of detours around Seattle, just in case he tried to follow me.

Once I was back home, I ran inside to find my husband and our 5-year-old twins still up. It was about 9:30 p.m., and I sat on the couch with them as they all dog piled on me.

"Momma! Did you bring us anything?" Keely asked.

"As a matter of fact I did, I've got some cookies in the kitchen, but you can only have one tonight and then it's off to bed."

"Awww," both whined in unison. "But, we're not sleepy!"

I crossed my arms over my chest and glared back at them with that motherly look. They shuffled into the kitchen where I handed them each a cookie and a small cup of milk.

After they were done, Edward and I walked them upstairs to their room and tucked them in. While their daddy read them a story, I snuck quietly into the nursery and checked on Alys. My 17-month-old was sleeping peacefully as I leaned over her bed and kissed her gently.

And then came my little man. Owen Edward, our only son, our little prince. He had his daddy's red hair and topaz colored eyes. Though, now those eyes were shut as he lay curled on his side with his thumb in his mouth.

I kissed the tip of his nose and said a quiet, "Sweet dreams, little man – Mommy loves you."

As I closed his door behind me, Edward was just coming out of the twins' room. I smiled and wrapped my arms around his neck.

"How was the wedding?" He asked as I buried my face in his chest.

"Boring," I replied, my voice muffled by his shirt.

"Really? Not even a tad bit interesting? No shots of couples bumping and grinding on the dance floor?"

I groaned and looked up at him, "Definitely not."

"Well, then I have to make this incredibly boring day up to you, don't I?"

"Yes, you do," I replied as I took his hand and pulled him towards our bedroom.

Most of the rest of the house was an amalgamation of both of our tastes – his love for high tech gadgets and my love for all things Ethan Allen. But the bedroom had been designated as my domain.

Edward told me to do whatever I wanted to – no matter the cost – and I completely went to town. I found this gigantic, California King-sized bed that was actually somewhat plain when compared the rest of the furniture in the house. But, what it lacked in style, it made up for in comfort and convenience. It was low to the ground, so when I pulled my husband into the room and onto the place we most wanted to be, I didn't have to climb up to get to it.

I was especially grateful for this feature tonight. After the events of today, all I wanted to do was have Edward over and over again.

**EPOV**

Since the birth of Alys, Bella and I have become accustomed to making love generally very late in the evening – that is, if there was no interruption from any of the children. Tonight, though, my beautiful wife seemed eager to have her way with me immediately – and I wasn't about to deny her.

She grabbed me by the collar of my shirt and flung us both on the bed. Then she pushed me on my back and straddled me as she tore my shirt over my head and started kissing from my jaw down to my chest. Her tongue circled each of my nipples as her hands worked on my jeans.

I pulled at the zipper on her dress and managed to work it down all the way – she stood up and rid me of my pants and boxers before letting the dress fall away from her body. My angel stood before me, clad only in panties, and I felt this warm rush of love and contentment course through me. Her body wasn't the same as when we were younger, it was softer, more motherly – and I think I loved it even more.

"Come here, Momma," I coaxed as she crawled towards me seductively. "Daddy's missed you."

Our bodies stretched out next to each other as we continued to kiss and caress gently. A lot of our love-making as of late has been all-too brief, just quick trysts so that we wouldn't find ourselves in a situation where one of the kids walked in on us.

But, there was something in the air tonight – something that made me suspect her day hadn't been as boring as she led me to believe. I tried to push that skepticism aside as she rolled me on top of her.

"Edward," she whispered, "Make love to me."

"Yes Angel."

I removed her panties and returned to my wife who was waiting there with hooded, lust-filled eyes. Her beautiful breast rose and fell with her breaths as she reached out to pull my face to hers. She captured my lips as I slowly entered her – her smooth, shapely legs wrapped around my waist as we set a good, slow pace. After a while, though, she became impatient.

"Faster," she said through her teeth.

I pumped my hips faster and was rewarded with a moan from her which she quickly silenced by biting my shoulder. She kept her hold on my shoulder while I buried my face in a pillow to drown out the grunt that was threatening to spill out of me. I collapsed against her once we were both spent and sated.

"Mmmm," she moaned quietly, "I needed that."

"I could tell," I replied as I rolled to her side but kept her close to me.

She was staring off in the distance, deep in thought.

"What are you thinking?" I asked.

"Nothing," she lied.

I was torn between letting it drop or risk starting a fight by calling her on her bullshit. I decided it would be best to leave it for another time, lest we risk waking the children.

"Babe," she said thoughtfully, "Have you thought about getting a vasectomy."

I stared at her incredulously, "Wow, that was blunt and apropos of nothing."

"Well, you asked what I was thinking," she replied quietly. "I was just wondering, since we've said we don't want any more kids, it's such a chore for me to remember birth control all the time when you can do something once and we're covered."

"Not necessarily," I said, "Vasectomies aren't a hundred percent effective."

She gave me an exasperated look, "Edward, you're a doctor…you of all people should know that the most practical solution to this is you have a vasectomy. I mean, you wouldn't want me to have to go in and get my tubes tied, would you?"

"No," I replied, "But, this is just a bit sudden. I think we should sleep on it."

"OK," she said softly, "All I ask is that you think about it, please?"

I nodded as we heard a soft knock on the door, "Mommy, Daddy, can I sleep with you?"

It was Aina. I put my boxers back on and went to pick her up and distract her a bit so Bella could slip into a nightgown. I held my daughter close before settling her in our bed between me and Bella. I watched as my wife as she gently rubbed Aina's back until she fell asleep. And I thought about what she had said – getting a vasectomy.

When we had talked about not having more children, a part of me secretly hoped we'd decide we wanted one more. Not that I don't love all my girls, but another man around the house would be nice. I wanted Owen to have a little brother to look after; I thought it would be good for him.

Now Bella wants us to make this decision final – no turning back – and I wasn't sure how to feel about it right now. While I watched two of my angels sleep, I stayed up until the break of dawn weighing the pros and cons in my mind – it's true, I want another baby; but it's also true that I'm completely happy with my life the way it is.

The last thought that ran through my head before I finally dozed off was why? Why did Bella bring this up when she did – the way she did? It seemed bazaar to me; like she was hiding something.

**BPOV**

It just kind of slipped out, really. I had been thinking about bringing up the subject of a vasectomy with Edward for a while, but I thought we'd sit down and talk about it rationally – not while in a post-coital haze.

But, once the words were out of my mouth, they couldn't be stopped. And I mentally kicked myself repeatedly at his hurt reaction. He had every right to feel attack at the way I brought it up; it wasn't as though we made any real, final decision on the children front. But, I looked at the life I had right now and thought how totally amazing it was, better than I could have ever imagined it would be; and then I thought about how difficult it could be to protect the children I do have. If I had one more, I'd be that much more vulnerable to the likes of James.

I know I should tell Edward about the confrontation, but I knew it would just worry him too much.

I was taking the kids to see their grandparents in Forks today, but – me being the forgetful person I am – I didn't fill up on gas and had to stop just outside of town at the little gas station there. I hadn't been to the station in years, and was somewhat horrified to find they didn't have a pay-at-pump option. I had to go into the store and pay in cash.

I stuck my head into the car, "Mommy needs to go inside really fast, OK? I'll be back in a minute."

I shut the door and locked it, making sure I set the alarm while I was at it. Luckily, it was still February, and the kids wouldn't become overheated in there. I kept glancing over my shoulder at the register as I told the woman I needed 40 on pump number 2. I was so distracted watching the children, I didn't notice the very tall man standing next to me.

"Hello Bella."

I turned with wide eyes, "Jacob? What are you doing here?"

"I came out to look at Jim's truck."

"Who?"

"Jim, he owns the station," Jacob replied, "He always calls me to come look at it – won't trust anyone else, apparently."

"Well, you're a great mechanic," I said quickly, "But, I really have to go, my children are in the car."

I walked outside only to hear his footsteps following me. I grimaced inwardly – the girls would want to talk to him once they saw him, and they would be upset with me if I said they couldn't. I unlocked the door so I could pull the little latch that opened the door over the gas cap.

"Mommy! Is that Uncle Jake?" Keely asked.

"Yes sweetie," I replied softly.

Jacob opened the back door on the passenger side and stuck his head in, "There are my girls!"

I went about filling the tank as Jacob played with the children inside the car. Once I was done, I'd have a little talk with him. The pump hit 40 and I pulled the nozzle out and replaced it on its latch. Jacob was just emerging from the car as I walked around the side.

"I know what you're going to say," Jacob said as I opened my mouth to speak, "You don't want me around. But, please Bella, I don't want to hurt you or your family – I just want to be your friend. I promise, nothing more this time; I'm not trying to trick you or anything. I just miss you, and I miss the kids – hell, I even miss ol' what's-his-name."

"Edward," I replied, unable to hide my smirk.

Something told me this could be another trick, another way for Jacob to weasel his way into my life again. But there was something in his eyes that wasn't there before – maturity. He seemed to genuinely want to be my friend.

"Look," I said, "We're heading over to see Dad and Sue; you can meet us there if you like."

He nodded, "I just have to wait for Jim to pay me, and I'll be on my way."

"OK, see you then."

I climbed back into the car and braced myself for the onslaught of questions that Keely and Aina would inevitably throw at me – Keely started.

"Where has Uncle Jake been?"

"He's been busy, sweetie," I said, "He hasn't had time to visit as often as he would like to."

"Can't he come to Grandma and Grandpa's with us?" It was Aina's turn now.

"He's coming," I replied, "He just has something to do first. He'll meet us there."

"Yay!!" Both yelled in unison.

"'Ncle 'Ake?" Owen asked.

"Yes, little man, you'll see Uncle Jake soon."

Once we were at the house, Dad and Sue rushed out to help me get the kids out of their car seats. I held Alys close to me as Sue grabbed Owen and Dad took a twin in each arm.

"How are my girls?" Dad asked them as he swung them around.

They laughed so hard they couldn't answer.

"Charlie, stop that, you'll make them sick," Sue chided.

"Oh, they're fine," I said. "They love it when Grandpa or Dad or Uncle Emmett throws them around like that. I like it too, it'll toughen them up."

Sue laughed and set Owen down in the TV room, "You want to watch Elmo? Grandma Sue got some new movies for you."

"Elmo!" Owen cried.

"Elmo!" Alys mimicked, she had become accustomed to repeating everything her brother said – I knew in a couple of years, he was going to start finding that quite annoying.

We set them down as Dad entered with the girls. The kids and Dad watched the movie as I walked into the kitchen with Sue.

"You seem distracted," she remarked.

"I saw Jacob at the gas station."

"Oh, was it awful?"

"No, it was surprisingly pleasant," I said. "I think that last talk we had might have knocked some sense into him."

"I'm sure that smack you gave him had something to do with it," she said with a smirk.

"Who told you I smacked him?"

"Edward," she laughed. "You should have seen the pride in his eyes when he told me, too. Like you were a soldier back home from the war or something."

I laughed, "Well, whatever it was, he seems to have really changed. He said he wanted to be friends – and only friends – this time. He's even coming here so he can spend some time with the kids."

She looked at me skeptically, "Bella, that boy is always going to carry a torch for you, and you know that. I thought cutting him out was actually a good idea to be honest with you."

"Why?"

"Because he has an unhealthy attachment to you," she said. "It may be better for you both to just stay away from each other. With you around, he doesn't feel the need to find anyone else, I think."

I shook my head, "Maybe that was the case before, but he seems to be making an honest effort to change here. I'm at least giving him the benefit of the doubt – if he goes back to his old ways, then I'll cut him off for good, OK?"

"That sounds sensible," Sue replied as she poured us some coffee.


	3. Chapter 3

**BPOV **

**March**

Rosalie and I had planned out Alice's baby shower perfectly. I invited Al out to lunch a week before—after her most recent doctor visit—and managed to get her to spill about the baby's sex. It's going to be a girl, so Rose and I then went crazy buying up every possible pink item at the local party favor store.

We held the party at my house, and the twins were beyond thrilled to see the amount of pink all over the place.

"Mommy, it's so pretty!" Aina said in awe.

"Yeah, can the house look like this all the time?" Keely chirped.

"We'll see," I replied with a smirk.

Rosalie had a helium machine to blow up balloons, and I managed to keep both Alys and Owen occupied by attaching one to each of them. Owen stared up at the pink, plastic orb above his head in wonder.

"Ball-ooooon," he cooed as he reached for it—but, it eluded his grasp.

I was in the kitchen making the cake when Edward and Emmett walked in from golfing with Jasper and Carlisle. Edward walked over to me and kissed the back of my neck as I poured the batter into a sheet pan.

It sent such incredible shivers down my spine; I almost dropped the mixing bowl.

"How was golf?" I asked as Edward picked Keely off of the counter top—where she was licking cake batter off of a spoon—and swung her onto his hip.

"Fantastic," he said as Emmett scoffed in a disgruntled tone, "I beat all those guys, as usual."

"Whatever," Emmett said, "You barely won this time."

"Winning by 15 strokes isn't 'barely,' Em," Edward shot back.

I closed the oven door and turned back to them. "OK, lower the testosterone, please."

Edward smirked as he kissed Keely on the forehead and put her down. "How's the party coming along?"

"Good," I said, "We've got most of the decorations up, and Jasper should have Alice over here in about two hours."

"When do people start arriving?" Edward asked as he wrapped his arms around me.

"Any time now," I replied, "I told everyone to swing by between 4 and 5:30 – just be sure to be here before Alice arrives."

Just then, the doorbell rang.

"So, do you want me to go play gracious host?" He asked.

"No," I said, "We both need to go up stairs and get ready for the party. Rose will get the door."

"What's wrong with what I'm wearing?" He asked as he looked down on the long-sleeved polo shirt and khaki pants he wore.

"You can't look like you just came in from golfing."

"Emmett does," he countered.

"Yeah, well I'm not Emmett's wife, I'm your wife, and I said get your butt upstairs and take a shower," I demanded with my arms crossed over my chest.

Emmett stood by the kitchen door with the world's biggest smirk on his face—just waiting to see if Edward obediently followed my orders. I realized I put my husband in an awkward position, but I couldn't back down now.

Edward sighed and kissed the top of my head, "Yes, sweetie."

Before he had a chance to leave the room, though, the phone rang and he picked it up off of the desk.

"Hello."

He listened to the voice on the other end and gave me a weird look, "May I ask who's speaking?"

He listened and then handed me the phone, "It's someone wanting to hire you for a photo shoot."

"Hello?" I asked

"Mrs. Cullen," that evil voice purred, "How are you this lovely Saturday afternoon, hmmm?"

"I'm sorry," I said, "I don't think I'm available for that."

I went to hang up when the voice stopped me, "I wouldn't end this conversation if I were you, Mrs. Cullen. Just look into the face of little Keely, or Aina, or that cute little Owen of yours. He is just the spitting image of Edward."

I felt my heart sink into my stomach as he mentioned my children. My hand started shaking and Edward was at my side in an instant.

"Angel! What's wrong?"

"Tell him you're fine," James demanded.

"I'm fine," I replied automatically, "Just lost in thought for a second."

"If you know what's good for you and your family," James continued, "You'll just play along and pretend I'm just another customer making an appointment."

I swallowed and managed to calm myself back down, "Well, that day sounds a little more doable for me."

"Good girl," James said; I could hear the evil grin in his voice. "Now, I will be calling back again soon to set up a time to meet with you in person. Oh, and I wouldn't go calling the cops or telling your little hubby about all this if I were you. And don't bother trying to trace this call, it won't work."

He hung up suddenly and I felt my body go numb. I put the phone back on the hook and tried to return to normal. I had been debating over telling Edward about my encounter with James at the wedding, and now I was cursing myself for never doing it.

This bastard had my unlisted number, so he most likely had access to my address as well. And he knew my children's names and what they looked like. I sat down at the desk chair by the phone and ran through the possible reasons he wanted to see me.

There was really only one reason, I knew, and it didn't end well for me.

Edward put a hand on my shoulder and brought me back to reality.

"Angel, are you OK?"

"Yeah," I said, surprised with how normal I was able to make my voice sound, "I just need to write down the date for the shoot."

I took my day planner out of the desk and marked sometime in late April, not even aware of the date. He still stood over me with an aura of worry.

"Who was that?"

"A friend of Charlie's," I lied, "He wants me to go out to Forks and take family photos."

He hesitated, "Then...why did you seem so distraught."

"I forgot who he was for a moment. He is a really old friend of Charlie's, but I couldn't remember him for the life of me and I was worried I had offended him."

Ladies and gentleman, the Academy Award goes to...

Edward looked like he was still skeptical, but accepted my explanation, "Yeah, I hate that when my dad's old friends expect me to remember them after all these years."

We both laughed and he kissed me before walking out of the kitchen and up to take a shower. In all the confusion, though, I forgot Emmett was still there. He beheld me with the same skepticism as Edward.

"Which friend of Charlie's was that?" He asked as he left his position against the wall.

"Sam Donaldson, remember him?" I replied, pulling someone we hadn't seen in at least twenty years out of my head. "He had all those German Shorthairs he raised for hunting. He wants a portrait of him and his wife with the dogs—he said they always hang one over their fireplace."

Damn, even I'm beginning to believe this bullshit.

He nodded, "Yeah, I remember those dogs. I always wanted one, but Dad would never let me get one."

"Well, maybe I'll talk to Sam for you, see if he has any he's selling."

What the hell am I doing? I'm getting to into this.

"Nah," Emmett replied, "Me and Rosalie don't have room for a dog that big. She says we're getting one of those little Shih Tzu dogs from a breeder she knows out of Bellevue."

I grinned at him and his eyes got wide as he realized what he let slip. "You will repeat none of that to Edward!"

I saluted him, "Aye, aye, captain wussy dog!"

He glared before leaving the kitchen and I finally flopped myself down into a chair around the table and felt the tears threaten to fall. What am I going to do? Everything inside of me screamed to tell Edward, but I'm not sure what James is capable of. If I bring in the police or anything, will he find a way to still get to one of my children? Or to Edward?

I sat pondering these questions and running each worst case scenario over in my head when Edward walked back in, fresh from his shower. He found me sitting there and got worried once again.

"Angel, are you sure you're ok?"

"Yeah," I said, jumping out of my chair and moving to the door, "I'm going to go change."

I rushed up to my room and found the dress I was planning to wear lying on my bed. I took off my jeans and t-shirt and slipped into the dress just before my twins came bursting into the room.

"Mommy, you need to do my hair," Keely said as she jumped up and down on my bed.

"Mine too," Aina said.

"OK, you two, sit down and let me do it," I said as I walked into the bathroom and grabbed a comb.

I walked back out and my two little angels sat side-by-side and waited for me to pleat their hair into pig-tails. I almost cried when I saw them glancing up at me with their big eyes. I would protect these children at all costs, but I had to figure out how.

**EPOV**

She is hiding something, and I was starting to feel upset that she refused to confide in me. This isn't the Bella I know – she has always told me her hopes and fears. And, deep down, I was afraid that her silence and evasiveness meant something awful.

Could it be an affair? I always knew she was far too good for me, maybe she actually found that man who deserved her.

I smacked myself internally for thinking such horrendous things about my angel. Perhaps it was something positive. Something for my birthday? I'm going to be thirty this June… that had to be it – she was going to surprise me.

But, I couldn't get that creepy guy's voice out of my head – the one Bella said belonged to Charlie's friend. It sounded familiar; but there would be no way in hell Bella would ever be in cahoots with that bastard.

After Alice's party, Bella and I put the children to bed and I spied her tucking Alys into her bed. She kissed our youngest child gently on the head and I saw a tear run down her cheek.

She is hiding something.

**BPOV**

I spent the next week waiting in suspense for James' promised call. And all the while, I wracked my brain thinking of whom or what could have helped him find us again. I nearly smacked myself in the head when the very obvious answer finally hit me – Leah.

I had to track her down and figure out how she came to know James. She had to have been the one to give him our information. I know she had access to photos of my children because she still had a key to the Clearwater's old house, which Charlie and Sue still kept for storage and such. I've given them so many photos, that Sue said she put some in the frames she had at the old house to make it seem less lonely.

I dropped the kids off at Rosalie's and headed out to Forks to see Sue. I pulled up to the house and found Sue sitting outside with a cup of coffee.

"Bells? What's up? What brings you out here?"

"I was wondering if you have a key to your old house."

"Of course I do, sweetheart. Why?"

"I wanted to check something. You said you kept some photos there that you weren't able to find a place for here, right?"

"Yes," she replied, getting up to walk inside, "Let me grab my shoes and the key and we'll head out."

I almost argued that I should go alone, but I didn't want her getting suspicious. We drove to La Push and there stood the old house, looking ominous and gray. I walked to the front door and stuck the key in to find that not only was the door already unlocked, it was slightly ajar.

Sue and I exchanged concerned looks before walking in cautiously.

"Hello?" I asked, "Is anyone here?"

There was no answer, so I continued into the house and wandered into the living room. I stopped dead when I saw the big frame above the fireplace was without a picture. I knew for a fact that that was where Sue had put one of our first photos with all four of my children. I looked down to a coffee table next to me and saw an envelope with my return address on it – remnants of a Christmas card.

"What photo were you looking for, sweetie?" Sue asked as she joined me.

She followed my gaze to the blank frame on the wall and gasped, "Where's my picture?"

I shook my head to bring myself back to reality, "Sue, who else has access to this house?"

"Your father, Seth and…Leah…" she got quiet at the mention of her daughter's name. "You…you don't think she took it, do you?"

I gave her a grave look and she covered her mouth with her hands to suppress a sob.

"Bella, what's going on?" She asked. "Does this have something to do with that boy Leah was dating. The one who knows you and Edward."

I looked off into the distance and nodded, "James. He's been harassing me. At first, I was just writing it off as him being up to his old, annoying ways. But, he's changed for the worse. It's not just a fun little game for him anymore, but I'm not quite sure what he wants from us. He's a complete psychopath, now. Do you know if Leah and him are still together?"

"I haven't talked to Leah since Christmas," she said.

"Well, they were together at that wedding I went to."

"The one for Linda's daughter?"

"Yes," I replied, "I just ignored him when he talked to me, but I had a feeling he was up to something."

"Did you tell Edward?"

"No," I said as she shook her head and muttered 'oh Bella.'

I sighed and continued, "I was going to, but then he called the day of Alice's baby shower. He called to warn me not to say anything; he said if I tell Edward or call the police…well, he didn't specify, but I'm sure he meant that he would hurt my family in some way."

"You have to tell somebody," Sue said sternly. "You can't let this monster get away with this. These are your children! My grandchildren! Come on, we're going to tell Charlie."

I froze – I hadn't even thought about Dad, or Sue. What if James tried to hurt them?

"No, Sue, I can't risk your lives," I said as I slumped down against a wall, "I just feel so helpless right now."

"Come back to the house with me," Sue said as she helped me off the ground, "We'll think of something."

As we walked outside, I could only look at my feet and the ground in front of me, too weak to lift my head. Then I heard the sound of wheels on the gravel road coming towards us. I finally looked up slightly to see Jacob's truck heading towards us.

Jake.

JAKE!!

I've never been so glad to see him in my life.


	4. Chapter 4

**Sorry this took so long, my inter-webs are being bitchy!**

**BPOV**

Jacob's truck pulled up and he jumped out to greet us.

"Hey, what are you two doing out this way?"

"We're just getting some stuff out of storage," Sue said quickly. "What are you up to?"

"I was heading back to the shop and noticed a car over here. I don't understand why you two don't just sell this house, Sue, it's gotta cost a lot for you and Charlie to keep it."

"It has sentimental value," Sue replied quietly.

Jacob looked at me and noticed the panicked look in my eye. I nodded as if to say something is indeed wrong.

"What's really going on, Bells?"

I took a deep breath, "I need your help, Jake."

**EPOV**

Bella's beginning to worry me. I got a call from Rosalie saying that my wife had dropped our kids off for the day and seemed in a hurry to go out and visit her step-mother in Forks.

Not that I mind if Bella wants to have a visit with Sue, but I would think she'd take the children with her so they can see their grandmother.

I sat fretting about this all day, still cursing myself for daring to think she might be having an affair, but unable to get that thought out of the back of my mind. If this was all nothing, one big misunderstanding, why wouldn't she tell me what was wrong?

**BPOV**

We all drove back to Dad and Sue's house to talk. Once there, I sat down with Jake and confessed everything—our past with James, Christmas last year, the incident at the wedding and the phone call. He sat there listening, expressionless.

After I finished talking he sighed and looked down at his hands, "Bella, why didn't you just go to the police? And why haven't you told Edward?"

"Didn't you hear what I said? He's threatening to do something to my children if I tell them."

"Then why did you tell me?" He asked.

"Because you're the only person who can help me that James doesn't know about."

"What do you mean?"

"He doesn't know you exist—why would he? So, you have the best chance of helping me without him ever finding out."

"And what am I suppose to do? Wack this guy for you?"

"I'm still not sure, but..."

My phone started ringing; it was programmed to intercept all incoming calls from the house. It was an unlisted number.

"This must be him again," I said quietly.

"Put it on speaker," Jacob said.

I shook my head, "He'll hear the echo."

I flipped the phone open, "Hello."

"Mrs. Cullen, lovely to hear from you again. You sound far away, though, are you on a cell phone?"

"Yes," I said, "I'm out running errands."

"Such a good little housewife," he mocked. "Now, I bet you're wondering when I wish to meet with you."

I closed my eyes and sighed inwardly, "Yes."

His evil chuckle rang through my ears and almost triggered my gag reflex, "Good...noon...tomorrow...at the Kingfish Cafe."

He hung up and I scrambled to write down the information.

"What did he say?" Jacob asked.

"We're meeting at noon tomorrow at the Kingfish Cafe," I said.

"I'm coming with you," he replied.

I nodded. We were both silent for a while and then he seemed to have an epiphany.

"I'll follow him home after you meet," he said. "I'm going to find out where this bastard lives."

"What if he catches you?"

"What's he going to do, Bells? Beat me up?"

The idea of James trying to punch a man about twice his size was laughable.

"I can take care of myself...and, if I remember correctly, I have a friend in the Seattle Police Department."

"Really?" I asked, "Who?"

"Sam Ulley's cousin, Tim," he said. "You remember – he was trying to get me and Sam to join the force right as soon as we graduated high school."

"Yeah, I remember that," I said. "But, won't he just make me come in and file a complaint?"

"I'll see what I can do about secrecy," Jacob said. "For now, I'll follow this James home tomorrow and give the info to Tim."

"OK," I said, feeling a little better about the situation.

**EPOV**

Bella was already home when I got off of work. She was making dinner as the kids sat watching a movie.

"Hey, how was your day?" I asked, kissing her on the cheek.

"It was good," she said. "I had lunch with Sue today."

"Really? Great, did you take the kids?"

"No," she said. "Sue wanted to talk about Leah, so I thought it best if I left the kids with Rosalie today."

It didn't sound like a lie. "What's happened? Is Leah still causing problems?"

"No, Sue just wishes she'd come to her senses," Bella said with a sigh.

"Is that what's been bothering you lately?" I asked.

She straightened up, "What?"

"You've seemed really out of it these days, like there's something on your mind—but you don't seem to want to talk about it, either."

Her eyes were sad as she turned towards me, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to make you feel like I was shutting you out. I'm just...I don't know...pre-occupied—for no particular reason."

She wrapped her arms around me and gave me a long, deep kiss. Then she pulled back and I saw that look in her eye—that loving, longing look that told me without words what she feels for me.

"I love you," she whispered.

"I love you, too," I replied as I leaned in for a kiss of my own.

I lifted her up on the counter top and continued our make out session until I felt a tug on my pant leg.

"Daddy," Owen said, "Juice..."

He held his sippy cup up in the air and stared at me with those big, topaz eyes. I picked him up and sat him on my hip while I got the bottle of apple juice out of the fridge.

**BPOV**

What am I doing? I'm making the most important man in my life feel unloved, and that's the last thing I ever wanted to do.

Maybe that was what James meant for me to do all along! Maybe he wants me to start alienating my family so they become suspicious of me.

I sat there on the counter and watched my wonderful husband with our son. He refilled Owen's cup without even having to set him down. The two most precious boys in my life—I stared at them and felt a sense of dread run up and down my spine. If Jake can't come through for me, I don't know what I'll do.

I drove to the restaurant and waited out front until 11:55. I didn't see Jacob's truck when I walked in, and I prayed he was just waiting somewhere nearby. I sat down at a table and waited.

I declined a cup of coffee and sat in tense anticipation for my meeting. I felt something slide across the back of my chair and looked up to see that bastard with a slimy smile on his face.

"Mrs. Cullen," he purred evilly, "You're looking exquisite today. Don't tell me you got dressed up for little old me."

"Let's just get this over with," I hissed in a low voice. "What do you want?"

"So impatient," he teased, "Don't I at least get to order a cup of coffee? Would you like a piece of red velvet cake? I hear it's delicious."

"I'm not hungry," I said, emphasizing every word, "I want to know what you want from me so you'll leave me and my family alone."

The server came by and James ordered a coffee before turning back to me.

"Alright, if that's the way you're going to be about things, then I'll state my case. I want what I never got from you all those years ago—what you know you wanted to give me but wouldn't. I want you to stop being a goddamn cock tease and met me at the Hotel Max a week from Saturday. I'm sure with your precious little husband's job, you can afford to book us a room there."

"You want me to have sex with you?"

"You make it sound so dirty, Mrs. Cullen. I want us to make love, like we should have back in college."

I looked down at my hands then glanced back up at his smug smile, "Please ask for something else...anything else."

"Not a chance, it's all I've wanted for almost ten years. And, if there isn't a room booked at the Max Hotel for two in ten days, then I will be forced to begin destroying everything you love."

I was about to respond when the server came back with his coffee. Once she was gone, he took something out of his pocket and threw it on the table—a photo of my family.

"I'll start with the youngest...little Alys! Strange spelling, I must say, but I guess that's the thing to do now."

"You stay the hell away from my children," I hissed as I grabbed the photo and held it close to my chest.

"Keep it," he said with an evil smirk, "I have more. And as for staying away from Alys, or Owen, or one of those cute little twins, the answer is simple—do as I say, and I'll forget all about you and your little brood. Do we understand each other?"

I stared down at the photo, my hands began to shake, "You'll leave us alone? For good?"

He slid something across the table, a plane ticket. "This is to London, where my friend's father is offering me a job in his advertising business. You spend one night with me, and I'm 6,000 miles away from you—forever."

I stared at the ticket under his hand and nodded.

"I'm sorry, I'm going to need verbal confirmation, Mrs. Cullen."

I looked up and glared, "I will make the reservation for one week from Saturday."

"I'll meet you there at 11 p.m."

He finished his coffee and left as I sat there feeling so dirty I was sure I was going to need multiple showers when I got home. I now have a little over a week to figure out how to get out of this.

I slowly walked back to my car in a daze. I drove back to Rosalie's, not quite sure how I got there, and sat in my car out front for what seemed like an hour. I was only brought back to life by my phone ringing.

"Bells," Jacob said, "He lives down in the University district. He has a townhouse near Union Bay. I got the address."

"Thank you, Jacob," I whispered after I wrote down the street name and house number.

"What did that bastard say to you, Bells?"

"You don't want to know," I replied. "Look, I've got to go, but I'll call you later, OK?"

"I'll call you, tomorrow," he countered, "I'll let you know what Tim says."

"Talk to you then," I said before hanging up.

I walked into Rosalie's and was greeted by the twins attaching themselves to each of my legs.

"Mommy!"

"Hey," Rose said as she leaned over to hug me, "How'd the meeting go?"

"Great," I lied, "I'm going out a week from Saturday to do the shoot."

"On a weekend?"

"It's the only time we're all able to do it," I said with a shrug. "Besides, I'll take the kids to see their grandparents while I'm at it."

I was thoroughly disgusted with myself—I've become all too good at lying to the people I love. Rosalie nodded as she took in all the information I was giving her, but still seemed a bit skeptical. Hopefully I can put all this awfulness behind me before anyone else starts to doubt me.

I took my children home and played with them in the backyard all day until Edward came home.

**EPOV**

As I walked into the house, I called for Bella, but got no answer. I thought this was odd because her car was parked in the garage. And then I heard voices screaming out back and I rushed to the balcony overlooking the yard.

I looked down, and there was my wife and children playing soccer. Bella was teaching Owen how to kick a goal, and his older sisters were screaming with delight when he reared his foot back and knocked the ball into the net.

I couldn't contain the grin on my face as I rushed down the stairs and scooped my son up into my arms.

"Well, looks like we've got a little Beckham on our hands, huh?"

"Oh, Edward," Bella said in surprise as she reached up to kiss me. "I lost track of time, I need to get dinner started."

"No way, I just showed up and I want in on this game," I said as I set Owen down and grabbed my wife around her waist. "We'll just order a pizza, or something."

My children liked the sound of that, "PIZZA!!"

"OK," Bella conceded.

We stayed outside until the sun began to disappear. Bella and I brought the kids in and she set them down in front of a movie while I went to order the pizza.

I was about to reach for the phone when I heard Bella's cell start ringing. I grabbed it to take to her and noticed the number wasn't one I recognized. I answered.

"Hello?"

There was silence before a man's voice asked, "Is Bella there?"

"Jacob?"

"Yeah, man, I need to tell Bella something."

"What?"

Just then Bella walked in and saw me talking on her phone—her face lost all color.

"Here she is," I said, handing the phone to her and standing there with my arms crossed over my chest, waiting to hear what she had to say about all of this.

"Hello...hey Jake...he did? He can? Thanks, that will help out a lot. Bye."

She flipped the phone shut and gazed up at me with a guilty expression.

"I suppose you want to know why Jacob's calling me."

I nodded and sat down at the table. She sat in the chair across from mine, "He's been doing a favor for me."

"And?" I asked when she took a moment to continue.

She sighed, "Edward, there is something I've been meaning to tell you, but I just can't bring myself to do it."

My whole body went numb—she is having an affair. I couldn't believe this, I just wanted to smash everything in sight and then find whoever the hell this guy is and strangle him with my bare hands. I held my breath and waited for my wife to finally hit me with the words that would confirm my worst fears.

"Those calls I got a few weeks ago, they weren't from a client or a friend of Charlie's...they were from James."

I think my heart actually stopped for a moment—James? My wife was cheating on me with my worst enemy?

"I ran into him at that wedding I went to, and I completely ignored him. But there was something he said that made me think he was not about to leave us alone...and he hasn't."

I nodded numbly for her to keep going.

"He called on the night of Alice's baby shower and made me promise to meet with him. He said if I called the cops or told you, he'd hurt one of the kids. Edward, I'm sorry! I was just scared and I know I should have told you sooner, but..."

Her voice broke off into hysterical sobs and she collapsed onto the floor. I rushed to her side and held her in my lap. I shouldn't be feeling relief right now—my wife just told me a psychopath was targeting my children—but I was just so ecstatic that there was no affair.

I stroked her hair and tried to calm her down, "Shhhh, Bella, my love—my angel. Nothing will ever happen to our children. James isn't getting anywhere near them."

"You shouldn't be comforting me," she cried, pushing me away. "You should be disgusted with me, I'm a horrible person—I've been keeping secrets from my family."

"You thought you were protecting us," I said in a soothing voice. "I would have done the same thing."

She shook her head, "You would have been smarter about this. You would have called the cops right away."

"Not necessarily," I countered, taking her back into my arms.

We sat there in silence for a while until another thought hit me, "Bella? What did Jacob have to do with all of this?"

She wiped some stray tears away, "He followed James home from the meeting he forced me into yesterday. Jake found out where James lives and he told a cop friend of his."

"Where does he live?" I asked.

"Down near Union Bay, I have his address in my purse."

"Give it to me," I said. "I'm going to see this for myself."

"No, Edward, we should let Tim handle it."

"Who's Tim?"

"Jacob's friend in the Seattle Police," she replied.

"Well, I want to see this place," I said. " And I want to send James a little message."

She shook her head but I was insistent, "Please, love—I need to do this."

She sighed and got up to grab her purse. She took out a folded piece of paper and handed it to me.

**Sorry, that's kind of an abrupt stopping point. Next up will be a confrontation between Edward and James – and the one between Jacob and James is soon to come, as well…**


	5. Chapter 5

**EPOV**

I had my receptionist reschedule my morning appointments so I could drive to Union Bay for the morning. I didn't really have a plan; I just knew I had to at least see if the bastard really did live here.

Sure enough, a half an hour after I got there and parked down the street from his house, he emerged and got in his car. I decided to follow him.

I tailed him for about 20 minutes until he parked in front of some shop that looked highly shady to me. And it was no wonder why—it was one of those 'adult' stores. I shuddered to think what he could be doing here; especially after hearing what it was he wanted from my wife.

The sick bastard was here to pick up supplies.

I parked across the street and waited until he was well inside. I ran to his car and took down all the info about it—a brand new Mercedes SLR-Class, silver, and the license plate read 'JMan87.'

I was about to turn around and head to the police department when I saw something on his passenger seat. There were photos splayed out, and I recognized the faces of my children. Motherfucker! And, as if that wasn't bad enough, there were shots of Bella, shots I've never seen.

One was her walking out of a grocery store with Alys and Owen in the shopping cart; in another, she was going out to get the morning paper in a bathrobe. But it was the last one that set me off—Bella, topless, lying out by the pool in our backyard with Alice and Rosalie.

I knew what it was from—last summer, Emmett, Jasper and I took the kids to Wild Waves so our wives could have a day to themselves. I was kicking myself now for ever agreeing to that.

I had to do something, anything—but I couldn't get too drastic. I knew I only had a handful of minutes before James emerged with his disgusting treats for Bella, so I did the first thing that came to mind—I grabbed my pocket knife and started plunging the blade into his tires.

I was careful not to leave any fingerprints behind before I ran back to my car and sped off. Since I had bought myself some time with the tire slashing, I went back to James' house to see what else I could do.

I jumped into his backyard and checked the door to see if he might have left it open—to my surprise and delight, he had. Making sure to cover my hand with the sleeve of my shirt, I turned the knob and walked in.

It was typical James—very flashing and over-the-top. It was one of those ultimate bachelor pads, and I shook my head reproachfully at the paintings on his walls. Like he was cultured enough to know who Renoir is; he just enjoys the naked girls.

I walked towards the front of the house and stumbled upon what looked like an office. Inside, I found a desk and prayed there was something there to incriminate him with. And there, right on top of all of his papers, was just what I needed—photocopies of mine and Bella's personal information.

That was it, proof that James was out to get us. I was about to snatch the papers when I realized that anything I grabbed while breaking and entering wouldn't be useable in court. And James would have plenty of time to get rid of the evidence before the cops would have time to get a search warrant on his house.

I heard a car stop in front of the house and froze; it couldn't have been that easy to fix his tires, could it? I went to the window and saw him getting out of the passenger side of a black SUV. Someone had given him a ride home.

I quickly made my way back out and hid in the bushes to the side of his house until he was in. Luckily, I had remembered to park quite a ways down from his house and made a run for it once James was completely inside.

I had to come up with another plan, and fast. Bella's time was running out.

**BPOV**

**Saturday (One week left)**

I still hadn't made the reservation, and I was hoping I didn't have to. I was still counting on Jacob and Edward coming through on a plan.

Jake was coming over today with Tim to talk with me and Edward about the situation. I also invited Esme over to watch the kids while we talked, though, that meant letting her and Carlisle in on the information.

I was looking through our front window when Jacob's truck pulled up and he and Tim jumped out. We all sat around the kitchen table and I got everyone some drinks before we got down to business.

"So here's the deal," Tim began, "We have this guy's address and a ton of information on him – the problem is we've checked all of his phone records, and there's nothing that shows a James Volchok has called here."

"You've checked cell phone records, too?" Edward asked.

"Yes," Tim replied. "And there's nothing, he's been calling you from an unlisted number of some kind."

"So, what can we do?" I asked as I looked down at my coffee cup – Edward put his hand on my knee gently.

"Well, there's nothing I can do, in an official capacity, since we don't have any hard evidence to support your harassment claims," Tim said.

"We threatened my children!!" Edward yelled. "What are you going to do about it?"

"Here's what I'm thinking," Tim replied, putting his hands up defensively. "We can put a tap on your phone, and if he calls back, we'll at least have that to go on."

"That's it?" Edward asked angrily as I tried to calm him down.

"Well, you've filed the report," Tim said, "So we will be keeping tabs on your house, 24/7. There's no way this guy is getting anywhere near your children, I promise."

"And, we can't put out a restraining order?" Edward asked.

"Not until we have hard evidence," Tim said, shaking his head.

"So, what can I do about the meeting he wants me to set up?" I asked.

But, before Tim could answer, our home phone rang.

"What if that's him?" Jake asked.

"Put it on speaker," Tim said.

"He'll hear the echo," I said.

"Doesn't matter, I need to hear this for myself," Tim replied.

I went over to the desk as the three men stood around me and held their breath. I pushed the button and calmed myself down before I answered.

"Hello?"

"Mrs. Cullen," it was that god awful purr again. "How are you today?"

"Fine, what do you want?"

"Direct and to the point – I like that in a woman," he said with a laugh as I felt Edward tense behind me. "Well, the reason I am calling today is I wanted to bring to your attention the fact that you have not made that reservation at the hotel."

"No, I have not," I replied.

"Well, I think it's probably time for you to get on that, don't you? There's only a week left," He said. "In fact, I think I should probably set a timeline for you since you seem incapable of completing this task. If you don't get the reservation by noon on Wednesday, I will be forced to take drastic action."

"What kind of action?" I asked the question on both mine and Edward's minds.

"I think you know the answer to that, Mrs. Cullen – think of your children and get back to me," He replied. "Call me at 684-5666 once you've made the reservation. I'll be waiting."

He hung up and I practically sprained my finger pushing the button to turn the speaker phone off. I turned to see Edward's face a deep shade of red from holding in all of his anger. Jacob had reached a similar coloring.

Tim, however, was messing with some silver object in his hand. It made a wurring sound until finally clicked to a stop. He pushed a button on it and I heard my voice echo out of the little box – he tape recorded the exchange.

"OK," Tim said, stopping the recording, "I'll take this into the station and play it for the sergeant on Monday. I'd advise you to do what he says for now until I can get something going on a warrant or a restraining order."

"Thank you, Tim," I said.

"Yes, thank you," Edward turned to him and shook his hand.

"Mommy, who was the man with the scary voice?"

I gasped and turned to see Aina standing by the kitchen door. I rushed to her and lifted her into my arms.

"It was nobody, sweetie," I said, kissing her forehead. "Why don't you go back in and tell everyone we're going to go get pizza for dinner."

"Again? YAY!!" She ran back into the living room.

"Well, I better get going," Tim said. "I'll call you two on Monday and let you know what my superiors say."

We said goodbye to Tim and Jacob before they jumped back into Jake's truck and left. The twins watched from the window as the white truck disappeared around the corner.

"Aww, isn't Uncle Jake coming with us?" Keely pouted.

"He has some things to do, princess," Edward said. "Maybe we'll all do something together next weekend."

"OK," Keely sighed.

**EPOV**

I tucked my girls into bed that night and read them a story while Bella put Owen and Alys down in their rooms. Once I kissed the twins goodnight, I said goodnight to my two youngest angels before joining Bella in our room.

She was in the bathroom running water for a bath. I walked in and began massaging her shoulders as she sat at the vanity with her eyes closed, deep in thought. She leaned back into me and sighed.

"Everything is going to be OK, right?" She whispered, "Please Edward, tell me everything is going to be fine."

"I promise, Angel."

She asked me to join her for the bath, and I sat behind her in the tub and held her close to me while we soaked in the warm water and lavender scented bubbles. She turned towards me and kissed my neck gently as I rubbed my hands up and down her back.

Once we were finished with the bath, I took her back to the bed and laid her down gently. I stretched my body over hers and stared down at my lovely wife whose parted lips were practically screaming my name. I devoured her sweet mouth before she pushed me back gently to give me a meaningful look.

"Do you remember when I asked you about getting a vasectomy?" She asked.

"Yes," I replied, hoping this wasn't going where I thought it was.

"I only asked that because I thought that having more kids would give James more incentive to come after us," she said. "But, I could sense that that wasn't something you were very keen on."

"Honestly, I would like to have more kids," I admitted. "But, only if it's something you want to do, too. I would really like to have another son."

"I'd like that, too," she said. "And I think that would be good for Owen – having a little brother."

"I think so, too."

"So, do you want to try and have another baby?"

"With all my heart, Angel. In fact, let's start right now."

I slid her robe off of her soft, supple body and made love to her three times that night. It was almost enough to melt away all my fears of what James might do if things don't go well.

As I held my beautiful Bella close to me all night, I prayed that the police would come through for us. This has to end – and if I could avoid going to prison for killing James, that would be the preferable outcome. Though, the idea of me strangling him to death does hold a certain appeal.

But for now, I was going to concentrate on my family, and the new addition that we could soon be having.


	6. Chapter 6

**Just in case some of you are confused as to where we're at in the timeline, it's early April at this point.**

**BPOV**

From the moment Tim and Jacob left on Saturday until we got Tim's phone call, everything in my life seemed to go in slow motion. It was the most maddening anticipation of my life—if we got the restraining order pushed through, then Tim could have a team of cops watching our house all day, every day.

I was at the sink, washing dishes while Edward sat in the living room with the kids when the phone rang. I dropped the plate I was absentmindedly rubbing with a washcloth, and it shattered on the floor near my feet. I didn't even think about trying to clean up the mess, I just stepped over the shards lying before me and made my way to the phone.

"Yes?"

"Bella? It's Tim," he said.

"Tim, so good to hear from you," I replied with a shaky voice—I wouldn't be able to calm myself until I knew my family was safe.

"I played the tape for my boss and he agrees with me, this James is dangerous," He said. "I have already sent a team to your house to do surveillance tonight. The team leader's name is Russell, and he should be there to introduce himself shortly."

Tears streamed down my cheeks as I was finally able to speak in a nice, even voice, "Thank you, Tim. I'm in your debt for the rest of my life."

"Don't mention it, Bella—this is my job."

"Thank you," I whispered once more before hanging up.

As soon as the phone was back on the hook, I felt a pair of strong arms wrap around me. I leaned back into Edward for a moment before turning to cry on his shoulder.

"Shhhh," he soothed. "Everything is going to be fine—he's not getting anywhere near our children now."

"I know," I said as I began to calm myself. "It's just, this has been hanging over my head for so long; I'm so relieved to get past it."

Edward pulled back and smiled at me sweetly. He leaned in to give me a kiss as the doorbell rang.

"That must be Russell," I said, giving my husband a quick peck on the cheek. "Let's go meet him."

We walked through the living room where our children were enthralled with an Elmo DVD. I smiled at them lovingly before heading through the foyer to answer the door. Standing there was a man nearly as tall and muscular as Jacob. I was glad the police force wasn't messing around on this one.

"Mr. and Mrs. Cullen?" He asked.

"Yes," Edward answered. "You must be Russell; it's nice to meet you."

"Likewise, I'm Officer Russell Culpepper," he said as he reached into his pocket and pulled out a card. "All of my information is on there—cell phone, home phone, e-mail. Don't ever hesitate to call if something seems out of the ordinary around here."

"We'll do that," I said. "Thank you so much."

"My pleasure, Ma'am," he replied as he smiled and turned back towards his team.

Edward and I walked back into the living room to enjoy some quiet time with our babies.

**EPOV **

**Wednesday**

Though we had the protection constantly around the house now, I was still nervous about what our future held. Bella made the reservation for the hotel just to appease James, but she had no intention of showing up for the supposed tryst.

This was all part of Tim and Jacob's plan. If James has to wait all night and Bella never shows, our cavalcade of officers will be waiting for his inevitable retaliation.

I was going along with it because I had no other choice and no better idea, but it made me nervous to no end. We still weren't sure what James was capable of.

I went about my daily routine with the knowledge that there was always extra security loitering around the hospital keeping an eye on me. Bella, on the other hand, had given up all pretenses of working at this point. It was almost as if she was under house arrest. How ironic, we're living in our own personal prison when James is the one who should be behind bars.

I went through the motions of meeting with patients, but I was on autopilot the whole time. It was a very good thing I didn't have any surgeries scheduled for a while—I couldn't handle a malpractice suit on top of being stalked by a psychopath.

I was sitting in my office when one of my receptionists, Brenda, walked in. I had hired her on part-time to learn under my regular receptionist, Maria, who would be out soon on maternity leave. And I was beginning to think she wasn't the best choice—she's only 23-years-old, she's kind of lazy, she dresses inappropriately, she's not the brightest bulb in the tanning bed and she seems to have developed a crush on me.

"Hey Dr. Cullen," she said, trying to give me a sexy smile. "A bunch of us are going to SODO Deli for lunch. Did you want to tag along?"

"No, thanks Brenda," I replied as I stretched and closed the book I was reading. "I'll probably grab something from the cafeteria."

"Oh, come on, Dr. Cullen," she said coyly. "What is it you always say about team-building?"

I sighed and rubbed my temples gently before reciting my motto on building a strong team, "'We should do things outside of the office in order to bond.' You're right; just give me a moment, OK?"

"OK, see you in the parking lot," she said as she walked out of my office.

I sighed and put the book back on my shelf. I took my lab coat and put it on the hook on the back of my door. I took my fleece coat off the back of my chair and headed out.

When I got out to the parking lot, there was only Brenda standing there next to her blue Kia.

"Where is everyone else?" I asked.

"I told them to go ahead to the restaurant and I'd drive you over when you got out," she replied. "They were really hungry."

I eyed her suspiciously for a moment, and then shrugged and got in her car. She plopped down in her seat and giggled as she started the engine. As soon as the car roared to life, some god awful music came blaring out of her speakers.

Even worse – she started to sing along.

"Even though the gods are crazy, even though the stars are blind," she warbled in a horrendous, airy voice.

I closed my eyes and thought of something pleasant to take my mind off of the assault happening to my ears. I remembered listening to Bella sweetly singing a lullaby to the twins when they were babies. I smiled and rested my head against the window until I felt the car come to a stop.

"Gee, you must have really liked my singing," she giggled, biting the nail on her left index finger. "I've never made a guy smile like that before."

I chose to ignore her inane accusation and stepped out of the car. As I walked into the restaurant, I scanned the area looking for any familiar faces. I found none.

Brenda walked in behind me; she already had a sheepish look on her face.

"Guess they went to a different restaurant – oh well, let's eat!" She chirped, grabbing my arm.

She tried to tug me over to a table, but I refused to move. I glared at her sternly and she looked down at her ridiculous, non-work functional high heels. I calmed my temper before I proceeded.

"Brenda, can we step outside for a second?"

She nodded and followed me back out to the parking lot. I walked back to her car and sat gently against the hood. I ran my hands down my face and looked up at her.

"No one was ever meeting us, were they?"

She was still looking down as she shook her head.

"You were trying to have lunch alone with me?"

She nodded.

"Even though you know I'm happily married with four children."

She nodded.

"Why, Brenda?"

Brenda finally looked up from her shoes with cheeks soaked in tears, "I…I think I'm in love with you, Dr. Cullen. And I think you could be happier with me than you are with your wife."

I shook my head and looked down at my hands, "That's ridiculous, Brenda. I love my wife and my children more than life. And no woman could ever take me away from them."

She sniffed her tears back and went to speak again, but I held my hand up and shook my head again.

"Don't say another word, Brenda. When we get back to the office, I'd like you to pack your things and leave."

We had an awkward drive back to the hospital and she whined and moaned her way through packing her things and made a scene exiting the building. I almost had to call security.

Once I was settled back in my office, I heard a beep come from my desk and realized I had left my phone behind and missed a call. I flipped the phone open and listened to the message.

"Hey babe, you must be with a patient, so I'll make this quick." It was Bella, and it felt so nice to hear her voice after what had transpired earlier. "The surveillance team won't let me go to the store, even if they go with me and the kids, so I need you to pick up some asparagus, some red potatoes and a mixed spring salad for dinner. And, maybe you could pick up a bottle of wine that Mommy and Daddy can drink later tonight? I love you."

The smile on my face must have stretched from ear to ear before I hung up the phone.

After work, I dropped by Safeway and got the things Bella asked for when I bumped into a familiar face. Leah Clearwater was working at the check out counter as I set my basket down.

"Hello Leah," I said.

"Hi," she said her face like a deer in the headlights. "How…how are you?"

"I think you know how I am," I replied. "I think you know how my family is doing now, don't you?"

She shook her head quickly, "I don't know what you're talking about."

I kept my voice even as I leaned in closer, "You gave all of my family's information to James – you're the only one connected with him who would ever do something to hurt us. I know you've never liked Bella, and you've never wanted the Swan's to be part of your family, but did you have to put my family in danger in the process."

"He…he said he was just going to scare you – to have some fun with you," she stuttered as she attempted to explain herself. "As soon as I gave him the photos and your phone number, I never saw him again, I swear."

"It was enough to give him all the tools he needed to harass and threaten my family," I hissed.

"I didn't know he was going to do that," she said quietly. "I'm sorry."

A manager approached us, "Is there a problem again, Leah?"

"No Mr. Mitchell," Leah replied.

I ran my credit card through the reader and steadied myself on the side of the check out.

"Sir, was Miss Clearwater rude to you?" Mitchell asked, glaring at Leah out of the corner of his eye.

"No, we just have some unfinished business, it has nothing to do with her work," I responded as she handed me my receipt and I grabbed my groceries and left.

I drove home angrily, but all the anger went away as I pulled into our driveway. I was coming home to the people I love most in the world, and none of the unpleasantness of today would stop me from having a great night.

When I walked into the kitchen, Bella was standing at the counter with Alys on her hip while the twins were mixing something in a bowl.

"Hey, Daddy's home!" Bella said as the kids ran to hug my legs.

I walked over to where my wife and youngest child stood and kissed Bella gently.

"Hello my angel," I said before kissing Alys on the top of her head. "Hello to all my angels."

Owen was sitting in a playpen near the table and he called to me.

"Daddy!!"

"Hey son," I replied as I pulled him up into a hug.

I set him down and the twins both jumped on me, "Daddy! It's our turn for hugs!!"

"Of course, I saved my little ladies for last," I replied as I sat on the floor with them.

Aina sat in my life as Keely jumped on my back and threw her arms around my neck. I held them both close to me and smiled. I looked up and saw Bella gazing at me wistfully.

"Well," she began, "Let's get dinner ready, shall we?"

I stood up and got the groceries out of the bag. Bella took the asparagus and put it in a glass dish with some butter and dill – the potatoes went into a pot to be boiled on the stove. She had been cooking a pot roast in the crock pot all day, so by the time the vegetables were done, dinner would be ready.

"And what have we here?" I asked as I tried to dip a finger into the batter the twins had been mixing.

Bella slapped my hand back and smiled at me, "We're making some cupcakes – some are for us and some are for the surveillance team."

"Honey, you don't have to feed them," I said with a smirk.

"It was Keely and Aina's idea," she countered.

"Well aren't my ladies such gracious hostesses?" I replied as I stooped down and pulled each twin into both of my arms.

"And they're a couple of fine bakers, too," Bella smiled as she set Alys down so she could pour the cupcake batter into their individual cups.

We sat down to dinner a little later and I sat by Alys to cut her food into pieces for her while Bella did the same for Owen. I felt that sense of contentment and happiness settle into my chest as I ate and laughed with my beautiful family.

After we put the kids to bed, Bella and I opened the bottle of wine and drank a couple of glasses while we languished in our bedroom. We made love after the first glass and then took the activities to our bathroom for one long, hot shower.

I held Bella close to me as our bodies entwined under the wonderful, hot water. There was an aura about our love-making that had been absent lately, and I knew I had our new protectors to thank for our newfound sense of comfort and well-being. We had a kind of freedom that we hadn't felt in a while, and it came pouring out of each of us while we continued to rollick through our bedroom all night.

I had no doubt that after this night we should be expecting to find ourselves with another little bundle of joy very soon. And, I knew Bella could feel it, too. In fact, we fell asleep thinking up names we can give to our next baby.

**Next up: the night of the "appointment;" how will James react to being stood up?**


	7. Chapter 7

**This would have been out sooner, but I had to go find a magenta corset for my friend's wedding (thanks Victoria's Secret!)**

**And I got awesome shoes for 4 at Charlotte Russe, so all in all a great day :-)**

**Saturday afternoon **

**EPOV**

The past few days have been excruciating, waiting for tonight and what could happen if things go wrong. Jacob and Tim have been at our house with members of the surveillance team since this morning.

"So, what happens if he comes by tonight?" Bella asked.

"I've been thinking we need to send you to a safe location," Tim responded. "Your father still lives in Forks, is that right?"

"Yes, but James knows where he lives," I said.

"Don't worry, we're going to make him think you're still here," Tim said. "If James comes by and tries to break in, we've got him."

"And if he doesn't?" I asked.

"Then we'll keep you all out of his reach until he makes his move. We have him monitored 24/7, so we'll know when he's up to something."

"So, I guess we need to get some things and be on our way," Bella said as she turned to get the kids ready.

"And I'll be coming with you," Jacob said. "Along with some other surveillance guys – can't leave you guys completely out in the open."

We got the kids ready and the bags packed and headed out to Forks with Jacob and two other guys – Derek and Anthony – in the truck behind us. The whole cavalcade arrived at Charlie and Sue's house before dark and the kids were all ecstatic to see their grandpa.

"There are my little ones," Charlie called as Bella and I took the kids out of their car seats.

Sue walked out and Aina immediately ran to her grandma.

"Hello, my pretty Aina," Sue laughed as she pulled my daughter into a hug. "How are you?"

"Good," Aina replied as she hugged Sue close to her.

"So, what's going on back in Seattle?" Charlie asked.  
"We're not sure right now," I said. "They're going to keep us updated. They have a guy tailing James and he'll follow him to the hotel tonight and see where he goes from there. They think James will probably head back to our house and try to break in – so they're preparing for that."

Just as I finished explaining what we knew so far when a gigantic jeep came tearing down the road. I recognized it immediately as Emmett's. He pulled up behind Jacob's truck and jumped out with Rosalie not far behind.

"We came as soon as we heard," Emmett said.

"Where are Ethan and Madeline?" Bella asked.

"We left them with Jasper and Alice," Rose said. "They said they're going to head over to Carlisle and Esme's house."

"Damn!" I said, suddenly realizing my big mistake. "I didn't have Tim send any surveillance guys to my Mom and Dad's."

"It's OK, Edward," Jacob said. "If James tries to head their way, Tim and the guys will take care of it."

"Everybody come inside and have some cake," Sue said as she turned towards the door. "I made a lemon sponge cake."

"Mmmm, cake!" Emmett said, following close after Sue.

**BPOV**

I held Owen close to me on Dad's couch all night until he fell asleep in my arms. Edward was reclining back in a La-Z-Boy with Alys asleep against his chest while the twins were snuggled close to Dad and Sue on the loveseat.

While I love this sight more than anything in the world – my children, husband and parents all cuddled together in the home where I grew up – I couldn't help but worry. Would James come here once he found out I wasn't in Seattle anymore? What if Tim and the team couldn't protect us like they thought?

Could James be able to find his way past all of our security? He couldn't! Not in a million years! I mean, stuff like that only happens in movies, right?

I stood slowly and smiled as I passed Edward to put Owen to bed, "Honey, it's time for the little ones to go to bed."

He was on the verge of sleeping himself when my voice brought him back to reality.

"OK, Bells," he replied sleepily.

We walked Owen and Alys up to the nursery and put them down in their cribs. I stood over them and watched my babies sleep as Edward set his hands on my shoulders.

"Everything is going to be fine," he whispered in my ear. "Nothing is every going to happen our children – I won't let it."

I nodded silently; I felt his lips caress the back of my neck softly and I leaned back into him. His arms wrapped around me as I took a deep breath and sighed. He was right, there was no way either of us would let James harm our children.

We walked out of the nursery and returned to find our twins on the verge of sleep as well.

"I think it's time to get these little sleepyheads to bed," Dad said.

"No…we're not slee…" Keely began to whine but she couldn't finish.

"Come on angels," Sue said as she and Dad took the girls into the downstairs study, which had been turned into a guest room.

Rose was sitting on the couch I had vacated. Emmett walked in from the kitchen with what must have been his seventh piece of cake.

"Oh...if you guys want anymore cake there's still a piece you can share," he said as he sat next to Rosalie, who rolled her eyes and sighed.

Edward sat in the loveseat and pulled me into his lap. I snuggled close to his chest and sighed contentedly as he stroked my hair and hummed to me. I was so at ease that I hadn't noticed I had dozed off until Edward shook me gently, "Angel, it's 11:30; Tim should be calling us any time now."

I sat up and rubbed my eyes – I fought back the previous doubt and fear that threatened to rear its ugly head again. Sue and Rosalie had gone to bed, so it was me, Edward, Emmett and Dad waiting to hear what was happening three hours away in Seattle.

We were watching some late night talk show when Edward's cell phone started ringing. He jumped up to answer it as I sat nervously on the couch, hoping to god it was Tim saying he caught James.

"Hello," Edward began, "Yes Tim…what happened? I see…so, we should just stay here and wait until you call again? I guess that's the best we can do. No, I understand…thank you for what you're doing for my family. Good bye."

He flipped his phone shut, "Tim said James just went back to his house after he left the hotel. So, we'll need to lay low until the coast is clear. Charlie, I don't suppose we can trespass on your hospitality a little bit longer, could we?"

"Are you kidding? You mean I get my baby girl and her babies in my house for more than a few days?" Dad asked. "I couldn't think of anything I'd love more"

Edward smiled and sat down next to me, but I was far from calm. I sat on the end of the couch, tense and shaking.

"I don't like this," I said. "This isn't good – this means he's plotting something big, I can feel it."

"Bells chill!" Emmett said. "Stop stressing, the cops are on top of this. Plus, I'll stay here with you as long as you need me to. So will Dad, and Jacob, I'm sure."

"He's right, love," Edward replied, rubbing my shoulders. "Let's just relax, nothing is going to happen."

Just as I sat back and tried to let my husband soothe me, the lights and the TV went out.

It was worse than I feared.

**EPOV**

I jumped off the couch again and ran towards the front of the house in time to see Jacob storming his way through the door.

"What the hell just happened?" I hissed, not wanting to wake my children by screaming.

"I don't know," Jake replied. "We were coming in to make sure you're all OK."

"There are only two of you – where's that Derek guy?"

Jacob looked around as if he hadn't even noticed Derek was missing, "Anthony, where'd Derek go?"

"He said he was checking around the back of the house," Anthony said.

"Hey, what's all the commotion?" It was Derek coming from the north side of the house.

"Where the hell did you go? You're supposed to be protecting my family," I hissed at him.

"Calm down, Mr. Cullen," he replied, trying to placate me. "I was just making sure everything was cool around back."

"Yeah? And now all the powers out inside," Charlie said as he joined us outside with Emmett close behind. "What, did you trip over a wire or something?"

"No sir," Derek said quietly.

"Well, I'm gonna go see," Charlie said as he eyed Derek suspiciously.

Emmett followed as they went around back. I stood out there glaring at Derek as well – he acted like he was up to something. Jacob was on the phone with the local power company to ensure it wasn't a power failure, so I waited near his truck to hear the results. Charlie and Emmett reappeared then.

"Someone was monkeying with the fuse box," Charlie said.

My eyes scanned for Derek again, but he had mysteriously disappeared. I whipped around and noticed that the once open front door was also mysteriously closed. I ran to it to find it locked – I knocked on the door.

"Bella! Sue! The door's locked," I called.

But I received no answer. I pounded on the door again until we all heard a smash followed by a scream. I was joined by Emmett and Charlie as we all tried to beat the door down.

**BPOV**

I sat in the dark and tried to calm myself. This was just a mistake – a power failure or something. It had nothing to do with James at all – nothing! I got up to check on the twins when I felt a pair of hands wrap around me. One of the hands was over my mouth before I had a chance to scream.

"Mrs. Cullen, you missed our appointment," that evil voice whispered in my ear. "Now, I really didn't want to have to do this at your father's house, with your children present, but you've left me with no choice."

I went to take a swing at him, but he blocked my shot and slapped me hard across the face. I staggered back into the door of the guest room, and realized where I was. I didn't want to lead him to any of my children, so I tried to run towards the kitchen to throw him off their scent.

But he stopped me again and had both of my hands behind my back with one hand, the other back over my mouth.

"Stop struggling, Bella," he warned. "You're only making this harder on yourself."

I felt another presence behind me as a pair of handcuffs was put on my wrists.

"There are two other women here," James told the man, who refused to show his face to me. "Go find them and tie them up."

"Leave my children alone," I cried as sobs began to hit my body.

My worst nightmare was coming true – he had found a way to get to me, and now I could only pray that any moment, Edward would be bursting through the door to save me. I've never wanted his help in dealing with James before; and now when I finally want it – finally need it – he's stuck just outside.

James put a strip of duct tape over my mouth before he grabbed my face and brought it close to his.

"I won't touch your children if you just give me what I want," he hissed as he pushed me back into the living room.

My eyes had finally adjusted to the light, and I could see there were actually four other men in the house with James – Derek, much to my surprise and contempt, was one of those men. They were barricading the doors and putting up boards in front of the downstairs windows.

James was going through a lot of trouble for this, and it made me sick to my stomach.

I sat back on the couch and waited for the inevitable – unless by some miracle, Edward can break down those barricades and get to me, James was going to have his way.

Suddenly, I heard a crash resonate throughout the house and a shriek that sounded like Rosalie. James immediately ran up the stairs to check on what was up. When he was up the stairs, I heard a sound that made my heartbeat hit cardiac arrest speeds – the door to the downstairs guestroom being opened.

Aina stuck her head out and looked at me, "Mommy, what's going on?"

I shook my head at her and stood up to push her back inside the room.

"Mommy," Keely said as she joined her sister in the doorway, "Why is there tape on your mouth?"

I looked to make sure James was still upstairs before leaning down so one of the girls could pull the tape off. Aina slowly pulled the duct tape away so I could speak.

"I want you girls to stay in the room and stay quiet until I come and get you, OK?"

"What's going on?" Keely asked. "Why is someone screaming?"

"I'll tell you late, I promise; for now, I just need you two to hide. Please, do it for Mommy."

"Yes Mommy," they said in unison.

"Aina, put the tape back on Mommy's mouth, OK?"

She covered my mouth again and closed the door as I made my way back to the couch. I heard what sounded like a slap and a muffled scream.

"Stupid bitch!!" A man yelled from upstairs.

I stood up – I couldn't just sit here while they were smacking my sister around. I struggled against the handcuffs until I saw the light from the moon streaking through the window hit something shiny on the floor – the cuff keys must have fallen out of someone's pocket. I lowered myself to the floor and grabbed the keys and, after a couple of tries, got one of the cuffs off. Then I quickly got the other one off before I heard James' voice coming down the hallway.

I went to Dad's closet and hid. Inside, I found his golf clubs – I grabbed a 9-iron and held it tight, just waiting for someone to open the door to look for me.

"Jesus Christ on a crutch! I can't even trust you idiots to handle one blond, bitch!" James yelled as he got closer to the door.

I held my breath as I heard him stop in the living room.

"For the love of…where the hell did she go?"

I prayed he would come for me, but to my horror, I heard him walk in the direction of the guest room. I quietly got out of the closet in time to see him reaching for the handle. I ran and swung the iron with all my might, making contact with the back of his head.

A grunt escaped his mouth as he fell to the floor with a thud. I hit him one more time in the head just to make sure he was unconscious before heading to the stairs.

I checked in on Alys and Owen, making sure they were still asleep, before crossing the hall to find Derek standing in front of Rosalie – who was sitting on the bed with her mouth taped. Her eyes widened a bit when she saw me, but she managed to keep silent as I snuck up on the Judas former protector.

I was calmer this time when I cracked Derek in the back of the skull with the 9-iron. The big, dumb idiot dropped just as easily as James had, though. Once he was down, I used the keys to get Rosalie out of the cuffs.

"Wait, aren't there two other guys?" I asked quietly.

"Yeah," she whispered back, "They must be with Sue or something."

We tiptoed down to the master bedroom and heard banging and pounding on the front day – Edward, Emmett and Dad must be trying to get in.

"You go let them in and I'll check on Sue," I whispered.

"No," Rose said. "Let's let the boys take care of them."

I shook my head, "I'm not leaving my mom with them."

Rose sighed but nodded and walked downstairs. The door to my parents' room was open so I peeked in to see the two guys at the window, laughing quietly at everyone who was outside trying to get in. Sue was on the bed, her hands bound and tape over her mouth. She was lying on her side, facing me, so I gestured for her to keep quiet as I approached her.

I unlocked one of the cuffs, but the snick of the lock caught the guards' attention. They turned and I stood ready with the iron as they came for us. I swung and hit one of the guys in the head, but the other managed to grab me around my arms and knocked the iron out of my hand.

He picked me up and swung me around as I struggled against his grasp.

"Stop struggling, bitch!" He yelled.

Suddenly, I heard a crash and the guy dropped my. I turned to see broken shards of lamp on the floor and a gash in the back of the guy's head. Sue was standing over both of us with a wild look in her eyes.

"Come on, Bells, let's get out of here."

As we fled the room, we ran into Edward in the hallway.

"Are you two OK?" He asked.

"We're fine," Sue said, "Are the kids OK?"

"Alys and Owen are fine," Dad said as he walked from the other end of the hall.

"What about the twins?" Edward asked as he ran downstairs.

I followed him, but we stopped in our tracks just behind Emmett and Rose who were staring at towards the guestroom door. Once I looked in that direction, but heart fell into my stomach – James had Aina in his grasp with a knife to her throat.

"Let her go, you son of a bitch!!" Edward yelled.

"Shhhh – such naughty language in front of your daughter Eddie!" James chided as he pulled Aina up to whisper in her ear. "Tell Daddy to stop swearing, Keely."

My little girl had her hands around James' wrist to keep the knife at bay. She got a mischievous look in her eye before winking at me.

"My. Name. Is. AINA!!" She shrieked before rearing her foot back into his crotch.

She pushed his hand away and the knife dropped out of it as he fell to his knees. Emmett jumped on James as Edward pulled Aina out of the way and practically threw her into my arms.

"Are you OK, baby?" I asked.

"I'm fine, Mommy," she replied as she held onto my neck. "Did I get the bad guy?"

"You sure did," I said as I hugged her even tighter. "You got him good."

Emmett let Edward pummel James a few times before handing him over to the police. Anthony read him his rights, and cuffed him to put him in Jacob's truck with the rest of his cronies. I put the twins back to bed before running back upstairs to check on Alys and Owen again.

I stood over their cribs and smiled as a tear trailed down my cheek.

"My two little angels can sleep through anything, can't you?" I whispered.

Owen stirred and opened one eye to look at me, "Mommy?"

"Yes baby?" I replied as I brushed his hair back softly.

"Get up now?"

"Not now, go back to sleep, little man."

"No," he whined softly.

I sang to him gently and trailed my fingers over his face – he was back to sleep in no time. I turned back to the door to find Edward leading against the door jam smiling at me.

"It's over," He whispered as he wrapped his arms around me.

I nodded and kissed him gently before we walked back out and closed the door silently behind us.

**I know you're wondering how James knew about the sting operation. I'll explain all in the next chapter.**


	8. Chapter 8

**EPOV **

The day after James' attack, we sat down with Tim and his superior Kevin to discuss exactly what had happened. Kevin admitted that the department had never checked into the backgrounds of the members of the surveillance team. Had they, they would have found out that Derek was a friend of James' cousin Brian – who was another associate at Charlie's house last night.

In fact, James knew about the polices' involvement in the case since we first made contact with Tim. James began to set the plan to attack us in motion as soon as the surveillance team was put together.

James did drive to the hotel last night, but as soon as he pulled and had the valet take his car, he snuck around the back to where another car was waiting for him and made his way out to Forks.

Derek had been the real man behind most of the information that James had received, not Leah – she was just a pawn James used to get to us.

I sat in Charlie's living room with Bella, Charlie and Sue as Rose and Emmett played with the kids upstairs. I was so relieved to have this whole ordeal behind me, but I still had this awful, churning feeling in my stomach that had managed to James get his hands on my daughter.

Surprisingly, Aina didn't seemed to be scarred for life by the experience; but I still felt like the most horrible father on earth for letting that monster get within even a foot of one of my children.

I kept replaying that terrifying image of James holding a knife to my precious angel's throat, and every time I did, it made me sick to my stomach all over again.

When the discussion finally wrapped up, I found Keely had snuck down from the nursery and was peeking out from behind the couch. I stood and walked to pick her up, and as soon as I did, she started crying. Bella rushed to my side and began to rub her back soothingly.

"Babygirl, what's wrong? Nothing's going to hurt you, we promise," Bella whispered.

Keely pulled her head away from my shoulder and wiped the tears from her cheek, "Mommy, I was so scared."

"We know you were, baby," Bella said as tears began to fill her eyes, "But, it's all over now. That bad man will never bother us again."

"When he came in and grabbed me, I bit him so hard I made him bleed – that's when he took Aina. I told him to leave my sister alone, but he trapped me in the room and I couldn't get to her."

Keely buried her face back in my shirt and began sobbing again. Bella threw her arms around the both of us and joined Keely in her bawling – I had a hard time holding in the tears myself.

Charlie stood up and embraced us all until Bella and Keely stopped crying. Then he turned to Sue, "I think we need some more of that cake, what do you think, Sue?"

"Coming right up," she smiled as she walked into the kitchen.

Bella and I walked Keely back upstairs, where Aina, Alys and Owen were sitting quietly watching a movie with their aunt and uncle. Seeing Emmett's face – a little too engrossed in a kid's movie – was almost enough to lift my spirits again. What really put me back in a better mood, however, was when my little boy turned to me and jumped out of his uncle's lap with an ecstatic, "DADDY!!"

I passed Keely to her mom as Owen threw himself into my awaiting arms. Aina joined her twin as Bella sat on a beanbag chair so both of the girls could sit in their mommy's lap. Alys, feeling a tad left out, reached for me and I took her and sat in front of Bella and the twins so the whole family could be close.

Bella had the most contented expression on her face as she looked into all of our faces. When her eyes finally settled on mine, I mouth 'I love you,' and she did the same. Then, a sudden, sly smile crossed her lips.

"You know…my period was supposed to come about six days ago," she said.

My eyes lit up, as did Rose and Emmett's.

"What does that mean, Mommy?" Keely asked.

"Well," Bella began. "It could mean that soon you'll have another little brother or sister."

"Really?" Aina asked.

Bella nodded and kissed both of the girls on the top of the head. I turned to Owen and Alys, "Did you hear that, Owen and Alys? You're getting a little brother."

"Bruh-der!!" Owen cried as he clapped his hands; Alys laughed and clapped her hands as well – imitating her older brother.

"You sure it's going to be a boy, Ed?" Emmett quipped. "History has shown that you two tend to lean more towards the female persuasion."

"Oh, I'm sure," I replied, smiling at my beautiful wife.

Charlie opened the door and stuck his head in, "Anybody in here want some pizza?"

"Yeah!!" The kids and Emmett yelled in unison.

Rosalie rolled her eyes and shook her head as she stood up, pulling Emmett with her.

"Come on, Em," she said. "Let's get you back into the world of grown-ups."

**BPOV **

**Monday**

We took our time returning from Forks. It pained me to take the kids away from my dad and Sue, but Carlisle and Esme also deserved some time with the children. We went straight to their house when we got back to Seattle – Edward canceled all of his appointments for the week so we could spend every waking moment as a family.

Well, almost every waking moment.

Once we pulled into Carlisle and Esme's driveway, we were bombarded by Hurricane Alice, who insisted we recounted the details of the past few days – though, we left out any part that was still too difficult to remember. We sent the kids to play with their cousin Aiden as Edward told the tale.

Alice kept eyeing me suspiciously the whole time – I think she knew about the possible pregnancy. Though, I wasn't one-hundred percent sure – I hadn't had time to take a pregnancy test.

As soon as we had a moment, Alice pulled me and Esme into the kitchen to "finish making dinner." Really, Alice just needed a quiet place to begin her interrogation.

"So, are we going to be hearing the pitter-patter of little Cullen feet again soon?" Alice asked.

Esme turned in shock and took me by my shoulders, "You're pregnant?"

"I'm not sure," I replied as I felt a blush crawl its way from my neck to my forehead. "I haven't taken a test yet."

"Well, then let's go get you one," Alice demanded, grabbing my hand. "We need some milk anyway, right Mom?"

"Absolutely," Esme replied excitedly, "Oh, Bella, another baby! It's so exciting!"

Alice shook her head, "She's been like this since she helped me repaint the nursery."

"Oh, I'm so horrible," I said as I put a hand to Alice's burgeoning belly. "How have you been?"

"Hey, you've had a reason to be distracted," Alice countered. "And, I've been spectacular – thank you."

We got in the car and made our way to the store. Alice, with her usual, over-compensating, face-paced stride, pulled me at mach 10 over to the aisle that held pregnancy tests. I pulled a Clear Blue Easy from the selection and placed it in the basket I was holding.

"Have you been getting sick yet?" Alice asked.

"A little," I replied. "It gets easier the more kids you have, I think – my morning sickness with Alys was nothing compared to what I had with Aina and Keely."

"Yeah, it was a bit easier to handle with this one than with Aiden, too," Alice agreed. "Any weird cravings yet? You want me to get you some pickles or something?"

"Actually, my cravings with my pregnancies have steered more towards the spicy side," I said. "Oh, you know what sounds good right now? Some of those frozen, chicken chimichangas!"

"Yeah," Alice replied, "With some sour cream and green chili on top."

"That sounds so delicious," I said as we hurried down the freezer section.

I grabbed the bag of chimichangas as Alice found a box of frozen, pork green chili. We went to the dairy case to grab some sour cream and got two packages of cookie dough on the way.

We got home and set the bags of food out on the counter; Esme laughed and shook her head as she stirred something on the stove.

"You know I'm making soup for dinner, right Alice?" She asked.

"Well, now we have options," Alice replied. "And the pregnant – and possible pregnant – ladies wanted chimichangas."

"And this lady is going to see if that is a reality, not just a possibility," I said as I grabbed the test and walked to the bathroom.

Edward intercepted me on my way, "Where did you and Alice run off to?"

"The store," I said, showing him the test.

He smiled and kissed me gently, "Well, let's not drag this out any longer. Let's see if we're going to need to buy a bigger house."

I grinned and walked in to take the test. I set it on the counter when I had finished and waited. Edward knocked on the door, "Angel, can I come in now?"

I opened the door and he wrapped his arms around me. We stood and stared at the stick until the timer on my watch beeped. I lifted the stick off the counter and looked at the little screen near the end – my heart dropped.

"Not pregnant? This can't be right," I said, shaking the stick as if it would change the results.

"These things aren't one-hundred percent accurate, love," Edward said. "We'll make an appointment with Dr. Johnson tomorrow."

I nodded, "You're right, and maybe it's just too early for the test to tell."

"Possibly," he agreed.

Alice wandered up and gauged our expressions to mean we weren't exactly happy, "No! No way! You're not pregnant? You have to be, I'm always right about these things!"

"We're not sure, Al," Edward said. "We're going to make an appointment with an OB-Gyn tomorrow to double check."

Alice still seemed skeptical, but nodded and turned to walk back in the kitchen. I wrapped my arms around Edward's neck and leaned into him.

"What if I'm really not pregnant, Edward? What if I'm not able to get pregnant again?" I asked.

He pulled me as close as possible, "You're only 27, love! You're still not to the age where we should be worrying about fertility."

"But I'm getting close," I said. "It's going to be harder and harder for me to get pregnant over the next few years."

Suddenly, Esme walked around the corner and stood before us, "I guess that means you're just going to have to keep trying."

I laughed softly, "It should be easier now that we're not worrying about certain other events."

"In fact," Esme continued. "You should take some time off this evening. At, say, the house off Puget Sound?"

Edward began to agree with his mother, but I shook my head.

"No, I'm not leaving my children right now," I said.

"Bella," Edward said gently, "I think we can take one night away. Don't worry, we'll leave after they're asleep and come back early, before they wake up."

I looked up into his eyes and melted when I saw the expression within – love, lust and complete, unswerving passion. I couldn't say no to that; I nodded and turned to Esme.

"I guess one night away won't hurt."

"Wonderful," Esme said.

We sat down to dinner together – Carlisle took Owen in his lap and fed him there while Esme sat next to Alys' high chair and tried to get her to eat pieces of chimichangas. My youngest is such a fussy eater, I was surprised when she swallowed a bite of the fried burrito and actually seemed pleased with it.

After dinner, we all sat in the living room and watched some TV before the children had to go to bed. I took a sleeping Alys upstairs and put her in one of the cribs, kissing her forehead and running my fingers over her sweet, chubby face gently to say goodnight.

Once the children were tucked into bed, Edward whisked me down to the car and we drove to his parents other home. It was our home, before we had children, and it felt strange yet wonderful to come back to it. The house was very much the same, though Esme had replaced the old couch with a new one in a beautiful, plum color.

Though, I wasn't really interested in the furniture – I was more interested in finding out if the upstairs bathroom was the same as it had been. Much to my delight, it was; there was still the hidden room with the bathtub the size of a small pool. I pulled Edward through the door and went to turn the faucet on.

When I turned around, Edward had already removed all his clothes. I stood with my back against the wall and stared at my husband – just as gorgeous and breathtaking as the day we first met.

I thought back to that day – how everything seemed to move in slow motion as he came into view, how I wished I'd be able to see that amazing crooked smile every day of my life and how I was already secretly wishing he'd make my dreams come true with just one, simple kiss.

I slowly removed my clothes, piece by piece, as I walked the length of the small room towards him. I was down to only my bra and panties as we finally embraced and kissed passionately. He lifted me so I could wrap my legs around his waist. His lips traveled down my neck, but he stopped suddenly and began to walk us both across the room.

He turned the faucet off as I saw the water was close to overflowing.

"We seem to have always had a bad habit of flooding this room, haven't we?" He asked.

"I'm afraid we always get distracted when we take a bath in here," I replied.

He set me down and bent to pull the panties slowly down my legs so I could step out of them. As he did that, I took off my bra and threw it to the side. Edward slowly kissed his way back up my body; he lingered at my neck and nibbled gently just below my ear.

"Edward," I whispered, "Make love to me."

He chuckled as he nibbled at my earlobe, "Yes love."

We made our way into the water and he sat on the little bench against the far side of the tub. I straddled his lap and took all of him inside of me. I rolled my hips over his and leaned back slightly – pushing my chest out towards him. He took my right breast into his mouth and suckled on my nipple as he grasped my hips and moved them faster.

After a while, I began to lose my breath; but I could also feel my climax building, so I leaned forward and captured Edward's lips in my own. I felt him release inside of me and I shudder at the pure pleasure of that feeling.

We dried off and took our activities for the bedroom for the rest of the night. If I still wasn't pregnant, after all we had done tonight, at least we couldn't say we didn't try.

**EPOV**

I managed to get Bella in to see Dr. Johnson the next afternoon. Mom and Dad came with us so we could bring all the kids – Bella was still feeling a bit guilty for leaving them last night, no matter how many times we all told her it was nothing to feel guilty about.

Bella took the doctor's test and we all sat around the room awaiting the results. The twins both sat on their mother's lap again, hugging her close as she hummed to them gently.

"Mommy, when can we go?" Keely asked suddenly, "I don't like being at the doctor's."

"It shouldn't be long," Bella replied just as the doctor walked back in.

Dr. Johnson seemed surprised at the increase of visitors in the examination room as she looked up from her chart.

"Well…are these all your children, Dr. Cullen?" She asked me.

"Yes," I replied. "These are our twins, Aina and Keely, they're almost 6; Owen here is almost 3, and Alys is 20-months."

"Wow, this quite the brood you've got going on here," Dr. Johnson said as she sat down next to the examination chair.

I've honestly never thought much of Dr. Johnson; she doesn't seem like the most professional doctor in Seattle, and she always seemed like one of those female doctors with a chip on her shoulder – like she became a doctor to prove she could, not because she wanted to treat people.

Not that I have anything against doctors of any gender, but the ones who are in it for the money or the status make me upset.

But she did come highly recommended by most people who saw her, and she is considered the best OB-Gyn in Seattle, so here we are in her office. Though, I didn't like the haughty way she looked at my wife – so condescending and snooty, as though she thought a woman with four kids was nothing but a boring, housewife. I wanted to stand up and proclaim that not only is my Bella the world's greatest mother, but she is also a brilliant and accomplished photographer. But, I held my tongue.

"Well," Dr. Johnson began, "This test said the same as the home test you took – but this doesn't mean you aren't pregnant. You say you're six days late, so I think you should maybe wait and see if your cycle still hasn't come, try another test. And, if it does come, you may think of trying this next month."

She handed Bella a box that read 'Fertility Monitor.'

"This will let you know when the best days to conceive are," the doctor concluded.

"Thank you, Dr. Johnson," Bella said.

"My pleasure," Dr. Johnson replied. "And give me a call if you have any other questions."

**Please don't kill me; I just wanted to create a little suspense. Don't worry; I won't let anything too sad happen to our beautiful, little family.**


	9. Chapter 9

**I just ordered "The Happening" on my OnDemand, and it sucks copious ass! If you haven't seen it, don't bother! (And by the way, what happened to all of M. Night Shyamalan's talent? Did it just magically disappear after "Signs"?)**

**BPOV**

Over the next week, we tried at least three times a night—four or five times if we got the kids to bed early. If my Edward wanted another baby, I was going to give him one.

My period still hadn't come, so I took that as a very good sign. I even used that fertility monitor and found out that Wednesday was the optimum day for my ovulation cycle. So we asked Carlisle and Esme if they wouldn't mind watching the kids for a night—again.

Esme rolled her eyes at me, "You silly girl, you don't have to ask if I want to watch my grandchildren for the night. In fact, I was thinking of kicking you two out for a couple of days while I get come alone time with my little angels."

A big part of me was still feeling guilty about leaving my children for any period of time, but at least I knew that—since nothing had gone wrong the first time we left them—they were probably not in any sort of danger.

Edward and I began getting ready to leave around 4 p.m. because he wanted to take me out to dinner. I protested that we should wait until after we tucked the kids into bed, but Edward was adamant, "Bella, they're going to be just fine. Please, I think we need some adult time, don't you?"

I nodded and went upstairs to change into something nice. I slipped on a little black dress and a pair of heels while the twins sat on the bed and watched me get ready.

"Mommy, where are you and Daddy going?" Keely asked.

"To dinner, and then we're staying at a hotel tonight," I replied as I sat down to buckle the ankle strap on my heels. "Don't worry; we'll be back first thing in the morning."

Aina moved over to sit on my lap as Keely jumped up to run to the bathroom, "Wait, let me brush your hair for you."

I held Aina close to me as her sister found my soft bristled brush and jumped behind me to run it through my hair. I began singing softly to them as I reveled in the feeling of the fine, nylon bristles running over my scalp and through my hair. Aina curled herself in a ball on my lap as I rubbed her back gently.

I began to have second thoughts about the whole night again—I just wanted to stay here and curl up with my babies all night long. Edward walked in to find us all on the verge of dozing off.

"Bella, are you ready?" He asked.

I took my eyes off of Aina and gave him a sad look—he sighed.

"Sweetie, they're going to be fine," he said as he walked over.

He scooped Keely up and sat her in his lap as he took his place beside me. "You girls will be good for Grandma and Grandpa, right?"

Aina lifted her head and nodded, giving her daddy a sweet smile.

"Alys and Owen are downstairs with them right now, and they're all going to watch a movie," Edward continued. "Don't you two want to join them?"

Keely jumped out of her daddy's lap and ran out into the living room with Aina hot on her heels. I felt a pang of emptiness run through me as they left. Edward took my hand and kissed it gently before pulling us both to our feet.

"Darling, I promise, everything is going to be fine," he said quietly. "You really need to stop with all of this guilt—you're not a bad mother for spending a night or two away from your children."

"I do keep telling myself that, I just haven't fully come to terms with it yet," I replied.

"Well, just think about it this way, what we're doing tonight is about family," he said. "We're trying to expand it—this is a very good thing."

I nodded, "You're right...you're always right, you've got a nasty habit that way."

"I do, don't I?" He asked smugly as we grabbed our coats and said goodbye to the kids.

EPOV

I took Bella out for some sushi – her favorite food – and then we drove to Alexander's Country Inn. It was the place where we got married and we've spent many an excellent night there, intertwined with each other. And, we were both hoping that it somehow holds some kind of magical key to fertilization.

We considered it a very good sign that we managed to get the same cabin we stayed in on our wedding night – maybe the stars were aligning for us.

As soon as we burst through the door, Bella threw me down on the bed and we frantically took off our clothes like we hadn't made love in weeks. Once we were naked, she straddled me and we moved together until we found our release at the very same moment.

We made love another time before we moved into the bath were we continued our sexual encounter until the bath water turned icy. After we got out and dried off, someone knocked on the door – it was a server bringing us complimentary champagne and desserts.

There was a woman in a nice suit next to the server, a manager named Melissa. "Mr. and Mrs. Cullen, it's so nice to see you again. As some of our most loyal customers, we would like you to accept this gift as a thank you."

"That's wonderful," I said as I let the server by with the cart. "Thank you so much."

I turned to see Bella's eyes light up as she lifted the lid off the serving tray to reveal chocolate covered strawberries, cakes, scones and different types of cheesecake and brownies. Even before the two employees had left, Bella was attacking the sweets with a vengeance.

"Hungry babe?" I asked.

"This is delicious," she replied with a mouthful of cheesecake.

I sat next to her at the table and began to take the food from the cart to set out before us. I took one of the strawberries and dangled it in front of her – she looked up and tried to bite the treat out of my hand, but I moved it at the last second. She turned and gave me a shocked look, "You jerk!"

"Hey!" I retorted. "I'm just playing with you."

"You don't play with a hungry woman!" She said as she sat back and pouted at me.

She looked so adorable; I leaned forward and kissed the tip of her nose. "Sorry Angel."

I fed her the strawberry and she bit at it slowly, giving me a salacious look that told me there would be a lot more passionate sex tonight. And she didn't disappoint.

We woke up the next day as the sunlight streamed into the room and shone across our bodies, entwined with each other and the sheets, just as I'd expected. I lifted my head to see my wife lying there with a huge smile on her face. She stirred as I shifted my position and opened her eyes.

"Good morning, my love," she said in a sleepy voice.

"'Morning, Angel," I replied as I leaned over for a kiss. "Did you sleep well?"

"It was alright," she said with a yawn. "It wasn't nearly as good as the sex, though."

"Nothing ever is," I said.

She chuckled and turned to the clock – it read 8 a.m.

"I told the twins we'd be back first thing in the morning," she said.

Suddenly, my phone started ringing; I got up to answer and saw my mother's number on the I.D.

"Hello?"

"Morning Daddy!!" It was Keely.

"Keely, baby, what's going on? Is something wrong?"

"No, I just wanted to ask if you and Mommy will bring us donuts on your way home."

I laughed, "Sure thing, Princess; what kind do you want?"

"Sprinkles!! Pink sprinkles!!" She cried excitedly.

"And what about your brother and sisters?"

There was some mumbling in the background before she responded. "They want sprinkles, too; Aina wants a powered one."

"OK sweetie, we'll be home in about an hour," I said.

"OK Daddy," she said. "I love you."

"Love you more, baby," I replied before hanging up.

"Kids want donuts?" Bella asked as she threw the sheets off of her beautiful body and stood up.

"Mm-Hmm," I responded as I wrapped my arms around her.

"That sounds good," she said as we swayed gently together.

Her breast pressed firmly against my bare chest and I could feel that familiar surge pulsing through my body. I wanted more than anything to make love to her one last time before we left, but a brief tryst would never do us justice. I kissed her softly before dropping my arms and turning to get dressed.

We checked out and went passed Krispy Kreme to get a variety of donuts for us and the kids. Bella stood over the glass case and gazed at the colorful array of pastries hungrily. She picked out two raspberry-filled and a chocolate covered cream-filled donut along with all the sprinkled and powdered ones we got for the kids and my parents.

I tried to hide the gigantic smile that came over my face as I watched her pick out her donuts. She acted just like she did when we thought she was pregnant with the twins – in fact, she never had a really big appetite except when she was pregnant.

We got the food back to my parents' home and the kids nearly tackled us as we walked through the doors. Bella sat down to watch cartoons with the kids while they ate, but I hung back in the kitchen with Mom. She gave me a meaningful look as we sat down with some coffee.

"So, how is she this morning?" Mom asked with a knowing smile.

"Hungry," I replied, returning the smile.

She leaned over and hugged me tightly, "Congratulations, son."

"Well," I began, "Let's save that for the actual confirmation."

"Oh Edward, I think you know in your heart that it's true."

I nodded, "I think so too, but, just the same – the last thing I want is to get Bella's hopes up again."

**BPOV **

**Saturday**

I know that the doctor said I should wait a week to take a test again, but I couldn't wait. We took the kids to the movies with Alice and Jasper, and on the way home we stopped to get some food for dinner. As the kids and the dads wandered up and down the frozen foods aisle, Alice and I snuck off to get another pregnancy test.

"I've got a feeling this time," she said.

"You said that last time," I reminded her.

"But I'm totally sure this time," she replied. "You're totally pregnant…I think you ate your weight in popcorn at the movie!"

"True," I said. "I am hungrier these days."

"What about the sickness?" Alice asked. "Are you still throwing up in the morning?"

"Not as much as the past couple of weeks."

We walked back to meet our families at the check-out, and we ran into Leah Clearwater as she was leaving work. I could feel Alice, Jasper and Edward tense up, but I approached her anyway.

"Hello Leah."

She looked nervous as she smiled weakly at me, "Hi Bella; how are you?"

I smiled to let her know I wasn't here to start a fight, "I'm fine. How have you been?"

"OK, I guess," she replied.

"Have you talked to your mom lately?"

She looked down and shook her head, "I don't think she wants to talk to me, anyway."

"I'm sure you're wrong," I said. "We saw them last week, and I think she'd like it if you called."

"Does she seem sad?"

"Not that she'd ever let on, but you can tell – deep down. You know how she is."

She nodded solemnly. I felt a tug on my pant leg and looked down to see Aina reaching her arms up to me. I lifted her into my arms and Leah smiled at us, "Is that one of the twins?"

"Yeah, this is Aina."

"They're getting so big. How old are your kids now?"

"The twins are almost 6; Owen will be 3 in June, and Alys will be 2 in August."

She got another nervous look on her face and looked down at her shoes, "I'm pregnant."

"Really? When are you due?"

"July."

"Wow, you can't even tell," I said – I hated to ask the question on my mind, but I had to know. "Who's the father?"

"I'm not sure…but I think it's James'."

My heart broke for her, "No…how…I'm sorry, Leah."

"Not as sorry as I am," she said as she looked back up. "I'm sorry for everything – I never meant to hurt you or your family, I swear."

"I know…believe me, I know how manipulative that monster can be," I said. "He's tried it on me since the day I met him."

"He made me believe he loved me," she said. "And when I found out I was pregnant, I told him and he said he didn't want to see me anymore – he admitted he was just using me to get to you. But, I still couldn't bring myself to get an abortion."

Edward walked up beside us then and put a comforting hand on Leah's shoulder, "I'm so sorry, Leah. If you need anything, don't hesitate to call us."

She looked up and smiled, "Thank you."

We gave said goodbye and went back to Esme and Carlisle's house. I felt like a freeloader, just shaking up in my in-law's house for the past week. But Esme kept telling me how much she loved having all of us there. At least I could repay her by cooking occasionally.

Edward and Jasper got the groceries in and then we set the kids up in front of the TV while Alice and I made our way up to the upstairs bathroom. She waited just outside while I did the unpleasant part of the job, and then we sat together on the edge of the tub and waited while my watch ticked away one minute. Once the beeper went off, Alice squeezed my hand as we checked the results.

My face broke out in a bright smile, "Pregnant."

"See, my feeling is never wrong!" Alice said as we hugged and jumped around in a circle like a group of squealing, Jonas Brothers fans.

Our celebration brought my most curious child up and into the room.

"Mommy, what's going on?" Aina asked as Alice and I stopped jumping.

"I'm going to have another baby, sweetie," I said as I picked her up and twirled her around.

She laughed as she we spun, until I stopped and set her on my hip. She rested her head on my shoulder and played with my hair, "I want another little brother."

"That's what I'm hoping for too, Angel," I said.

"Can we name him Connor?" She asked.

"We'll think about it," I said. "Let's get ideas from your siblings."

"OK," she said, a little sad.

"But Connor is a really good name, sweetheart. What made you think of it?"

She buried her face in my neck in embarrassment, "A boy at pre-school."

Alice and I laughed as we walked her down to the living room.

"You have a crush," Alice teased.

"Do not!!" She cried, sticking her tongue out at her aunt.

"Hey, what do I say about sticking your tongue out at people?" I scolded gently.

Aina bowed her head in shame, "Sorry, Aunt Alice."

"It's OK, sweetie," she said as she stroked Aina's hair. "But, just remember, boys have cooties!"

I rolled my eyes, "Thanks Al, you're a great influence."

Alice laughed and pulled me into the kitchen as I set Aina down to re-join her siblings and Aiden. I wasn't quite through the door when Esme got out of her chair at the table and approached me and Alice.

"Well?"

Alice and I looked at each other and broke out into big smiles. Esme squealed – causing Edward and Jasper to drop what they were doing – and threw her arms around us.

"I knew it!"

"Knew what?" Edward asked as he walked over.

"Well," I began, "It seems all of our…practicing…has paid off."

It took him a moment, but then his face lit up and he wrapped his arms around my waist, lifting me into the air. He lowered me slowly and our lips met in a gentle kiss.

"I love you," he said.

"I love you, too," I replied.

"So," Esme said, "Are congratulations in order now?"

"You bet they are," Edward said as he kissed me passionately again.


	10. Chapter 10

**EPOV **

**Late May**

Unfortunately, the drama from our dealings with James couldn't be over as simply as we hoped. There was no getting around a trial, complete with testimonies from myself and Bella. I tried like hell to get her out of it, but the D.A. told us her testimony was the most important of all.

At least we didn't have to do it in front of James, we went in and gave our testimonies privately, with just the two attorneys and the judge present.

Another aspect in our favor was Leah. She has made a complete 180 in the past few weeks, and she reconciled with Sue to boot. She told us she would be more than happy to testify against James, especially if she got the opportunity to do it with him sitting just a few feet away from her. Sometimes you've got to love a woman scorned.

Bella took the kids to my parents' house on the first day of the trial, but something inside of me made me want to be present—to stare down that son of a bitch who tried to hurt my family. I wanted to see him pay for what he did.

Jasper and Emmett came with me for moral support. We sat in the front row and watched stoically as the bailiffs brought James into the courtroom. He was in an orange jumpsuit with shackles on his wrists and ankles—I got some smug satisfaction out of that image.

His eyes were vacant and surrounded by dark, purple circles as he seemed to gaze at nothing at all. His attorney stood up to address the judge—and what he had to say shocked us all.

"Your honor, my client is not mentally competent to stand trial," he began. "I have here a psychological evaluation from the Washington State hospital's mental ward that states Mr. James Volchok suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder from an undisclosed incident. It is the opinion of Dr. Laurent Burke that Mr. Volchok be placed in the state hospital until further notice."

It took everything in me not to stand up and shout about what utter bullshit this all was. What incident could have caused him post-traumatic stress? If it was anything less than being gang raped in jail, I wasn't buying it.

James played his role well—as always—he sat at the defendant's table and stared blankly at the wall, like he was too drugged up to respond to anything. His attorney gave the evaluation to the judge who called a recess to look it over and come to a decision.

Emmett and Jasper walked me out of the courtroom and into the men's' room where I promptly exploded in a fit of rage.

"I can't believe this shit! He's going to take the easy way out, like always! Jesus Christ on a crutch, what does this guy have to do to actually earn a real punishment? Murder my children?"

"Ed, calm down," Jasper said as he put his hands on my shoulders, "This doesn't mean anything. The judge could still throw that bullshit evaluation out and go on with the trial."

"That name, Laurent Burke," Emmett said, lost in thought, "Where have I heard it before?"

"Burke? He was a Delta Phi at Pullman," Jasper said. "Guess Daddy got him a cozy government job."

We all looked up at the same moment with the same idea in mind. We ran through the building trying to find Mr. Jenks, the assistant D.A., to tell him what was going on. We found him outside talking on his cell phone.

"Mr. Jenks," I said. "There's something we have to tell you about this Dr. Laurent Burke."

"Let me call you back," he said to whoever was on the other end of his phone conversation. "Yes, Mr. Cullen?"

"He went to school with us," I said. "He knows James and he's trying to help him get out of serving any jail time."

"You're sure of this? That's a pretty hefty accusation," Mr. Jenks said as he began dialing another number.

"We're sure," Jasper said. "Dr. Burke was in a neighboring fraternity to ours, we interacted with him constantly."

Mr. Jenks put the phone back to his ear, "Hello? Courtney? This is Jenks, get me Satterberg...Dan? Hey, this is Jenks, I'm at the courthouse right now, and that bastard Murphy is trying to pull a fast one in this Cullen case. I think they have an in at the state hospital, someone who knows the defendant and is trying to get him off on an insanity plea...yeah...that's great, Dan, thanks. Talk to you later."

As soon as he hung up, I was right in his face, "Well?"

"That was the D.A., he's making a call into Judge Nelson as we speak. Hopefully, he'll take a closer look at this Dr. Burke connection and see that this post-traumatic stress garbage is bogus."

I breathed a sigh of relief, "Thank you, Mr. Jenks."

"Hey, it's my job," he said with a smile, "Thank you for bringing this to me, I was afraid all of our evidence was going to go to waste."

We sat outside for what seemed like forever (but was probably only an hour or so) before the bailiff called us back into the court room. Jasper, Emmett and I resumed our positions in the front row and waited with baited breath as the judge looked sternly over the papers in front of him before addressing James.

"Mr. Volchok, may I ask you how you know Dr. Laurent Burke?" Judge Nelson asked.

"Your honor," Murphy, the attorney, began, "My client is in no state to answer any questions."

"Mr. Murphy, sit down and don't you ever presume to tell me how to run my courtroom. I'm waiting, Mr. Volchok, did you meet Dr. Burke at any time before he evaluated you at the hospital?"

"No," James replied, remaining in character.

"I see, so you never met him during the years you two spent at the same school in Pullman?"

"No," the facade was beginning to crack.

"Mm-Hmm...so, this isn't a photo of you with Dr. Burke at a fraternity Super Bowl party during your sophomore year?" The judge held up a photo of James with his arm around a man with long, dark hair pulled back into a low pony-tail.

I recognized the photo instantly from the Sig Pi/Delta Phi party we held for the Super Bowl and was floored with how the D.A. was able to dig that up.

James was livid now, he jumped out of his chair and glared at the judge, "That...that has to be fake!"

He turned to me, "He must have set it up to frame me! This is all a set-up!"

"Sit down, Mr. Volchok!" Judge Nelson yelled as he pounded his gavel against the stand furiously.

The bailiffs managed to get James back in his seat so the judge could continue, "Mr. Volchok, Mr. Murphy, this psychological evaluation seems sketchy to me. I think that Mr. Volchok's mental state is not an issue in this case—the crime seems too well thought out and premeditated to be the work of someone who does not have a grasp over his mental faculties. Mr. Volchok will stand trial—Mr. Murphy, call your first witness."

The first day of the trial went on as planned, the defense got to give their side with the D.A. giving cross-examination to the witnesses. James' lawyers called some pretty interesting people to the stand, most of which were supposed to be character witnesses to make everyone on the jury believe James is really a stand-up guy—not at all the type of person capable of the crimes he's being charged with.

I couldn't wait until the next day when Leah takes the stand. She even went through the trouble of getting a paternity test, though I shuddered to think how she was able to get some of James' DNA.

We got back to my parents' house to find Bella, Rosalie and Alice sitting in the living room with the children. Bella was gently dozing off with Owen curled up next to her on the couch. The three younger kids were upstairs taking naps while the twins played some VTech games with Ethan.

My sister sat in a recliner with her feet up. My mother wouldn't let her lift a finger, not when she's just days away from giving birth. Of course, this annoys Alice to no end—she's fairly used to being quite active—but, I know she secretly loves it. Although, it isn't as if Jasper doesn't wait on her hand and foot even when she isn't pregnant.

The three of us—Jasper, Emmett and me—stood to the back of the room silently and just watched our loved ones. Jasper smiled wistfully as he watched Alice sit and rub her swollen belly gently. This made me give Bella a similar look—I can't wait until she's at the same stage Alice is at now. As it is, she's starting to get a slight bump already.

Owen stirred a bit before looking up in our direction. He smiled his big, toothy grin, "Daddy!!"

Bella's eyes snapped open and she raised her head, "Edward! How did it go? What happened?"

"Oh, you're never going to believe this," Emmett quipped as he sat next to Rosalie on one end of the big sectional.

"What?" Rose asked.

Jasper and I looked at each other with wry smiles.

"He tried to go with an insanity plea—initially," I said as I walked to Bella and took Owen into my lap. "But, he made the mistake of mentioning which doctor at the state hospital performed his psychological evaluation."

"Who was it?" Rose asked.

"You remember Laurent Burke, from Delta Phi?" Emmett asked her.

"No way! He's a psychologist?" Rose asked incredulously. "He barely graduated from Pullman! The man's an idiot."

"Yeah, but his dad is a big shot on the Seattle City Council," Jasper retorted from his place at Alice's feet. "Nepotism does make the world go 'round."

"Luckily," I continued, "We got to the assistant D.A. while the judge was in recess and managed to get this information passed on to those who could do something about it."

"So, it didn't work?" Bella asked.

"Nope," I replied, leaning in for a quick kiss. "They're going ahead with the trial and dismissed the whole insanity plea."

"What did they claim was wrong with him?" Rose asked.

Emmett chuckle, "Post-traumatic stress disorder."

"From what?" Bella hissed, "He's lucky my children don't have shell shock...that son of a ..." she stopped and looked at Owen who gazed at her with big, worried eyes, "sorry, baby, Mommy's just upset."

"So what did the defense say?" Rose continued.

"They just brought out a bunch of ridiculous character witnesses," Jasper replied. "Trying to make James look like an upstanding citizen or something."

"But tomorrow, the D.A. gets to bring out Leah," I said, my smugness returning. "I can't wait to see how James reacts to that—how he used her and left her pregnant."

"But, what about how Leah used to really not like the Swans?" Alice asked. "They'll definitely try to make it look like she had a hand in it."

"She admits that she did something very wrong," Emmett said seriously. "But, she didn't know he was taking it as far as he did. She wanted to get back at me and Bella and Dad—she didn't want the kids to suffer."

Aina came and sat in Bella's lap, "Mommy, what's wrong?"

"Nothing, sweetie," Bella replied, kissing our daughter's forehead.

"Momma, what's for dinner?" Keely asked as she pulled herself up between me and Bella.

"What do you want, baby?" Bella asked.

"Macaroni and cheese!" Keely said.

"How about you, Angel?" I asked Aina.

"I don't mind mac'n'cheese...so long as it's grandma's," she said.

As if on cue, my mom appeared, "You want the kind with cheddar and Swiss?"

Aina nodded in her grandmother's direction.

"With the potato chips on top too, grandma?" Keely asked as she stood up on the couch next to me.

"Absolutely," Mom replied. "Do you girls want to help me make it?"

The twins glanced at each other with giddy smiles before running off to join Mom in the kitchen. In all the commotion, I hadn't noticed Owen struggling to get into Bella's now vacant lap.

"OK, little man, here you go," I said as I lifted him and placed him in Bella's awaiting arms.

Rose looked at her watch, "The little ones are probably done with their naps, they've been sleeping for almost three hours."

"Yeah," Alice agreed, "Get them up or they won't be sleepy when it's time for bed tonight."

Jasper and I followed Rose upstairs and found Alys, Madeline and Aiden asleep in the three playpens that had been set up for them. I looked down at little Alys, curled up on her side with a hand underneath her left cheek—she was so much like her mother, it was almost scary.

Alys opened one eye and gazed at me. She turned her head slightly and yawned in my direction.

"Da-da," she said sleepily.

"It's time to get up now, princess," I said as I pulled her from her crib.

She groaned softly as I held her against my right shoulder, leaning forward to grab her favorite blanket to take downstairs with us. As I walked down the stairs with Alys, I heard a scream come from the living room that caused my daughter to start crying in fear.

"Shhhh, it's OK, Angel," I soothed. "Don't cry."

We got to the living room to see Alice doubled over in pain. Bella was holding her hand and trying to get her out of the chair.

"What's going on?" I asked as Jasper rushed into the room behind me.

"Her water just broke," Bella said, trying to keep her cool. "Emmett, go bring the jeep around so we can get her to the hospital."

"I'm on it," Emmett replied as he ran out the front door.

I took Aiden from Jasper's grasp so he could help Bella get Alice up and out to the car. Mom came out of the kitchen and nearly screamed herself at the sight before her.

"Alice!" She cried. "The baby's coming already?"

"It appears to be that way, Mom," Alice replied—a smartass, even in labor.

"I'll get your things," Mom replied.

The twins began to follow her upstairs, but I called them back.

"You two have to stay here with me right now, OK?" I said.

"But, Mommy's going," Keely whined.

"Don't worry, we'll follow them in a little while, OK? But, for now, we're going to stay here with Aunt Rose."

"OK," the twins said in unison.

I was relieved that Alys had stopped crying, she looked at me with her big, brown eyes and asked, "Baby?"

"Yes, Angel, Aunt Alice is having a baby," I said.

"How do they get it out of her?" Aina asked, always the curious one.

It just hit me that Bella and I had yet to sit the girls down to talk about this, and I didn't want to have this talk spur of the moment like this.

"I'll tell you later, OK?"

Aina nodded and sat on the couch with her little brother; Keely sat next to me and curled into my side gently, "When does Mommy have her baby?"

"Not for a while," I said. "Your mommy's only been pregnant for three months—she won't have the baby until this December."

"How did the baby get inside of Mommy?" Keely asked.

I _really_ wasn't ready for that talk.

"I'll tell you later."

**BPOV**

Emmett drove as Jasper, Esme and I sat with Alice in the back of the Jeep. I didn't know how we were going to work this out, but Alice wanted all three of us in the delivery room with her. I was thinking I'd just stand there until she was too drugged up to notice, and then slip out—she didn't really need me there, anyway.

We got her checked in, and then sat around the little room as the nurses went over her vitals. Her heart rate—and the baby's—was fine, and the contractions were still about half-an-hour apart, so the nurses said to call if she needed anything.

Jasper sat next to her, holding her hand. Suddenly, she sat up, "Oh my god! Where's Aiden?"

"Edward and Rose are with all of the kids," Jasper said, putting a soothing hand on her shoulder. "It's OK, Al."

Alice sat back and sighed with relief, "OK, I'm fine...I'm good."

Then, another contraction hit her, "AHHH!! Crap, that hurts!! Where are those bitches with the painkillers?"

"You can't have any drugs until you're a little further along," Esme reminded her. "And watch your mouth, young lady."

"Sorry Mom," Alice replied like a sullen teenager. "Kind of in pain here."

"You know, Bella has done this four times so far, and she doesn't swear like a sailor when she's in labor," Esme replied.

Why was she bringing me into this? I sat back as Esme and Alice argued back and forth. I made eye contact with Jasper, who was just trying to stay out of the line of fire; he rolled his eyes at me and I had to suppress a giggle.

"Well," Emmett began, trying to break up the awkwardness, "Not that this isn't just a barrel of laughs, but I'm going to go see if Edward and Rose are here, yet."

"I'll go with you," I said.

"No!" Alice whined, "You have to stay with me...I want you in the delivery room!"

"I'll be right back, Al—I just want to make sure the kids are all right."

She nodded reluctantly as I walked out with my brother. As soon as the door closed behind us, we both breathed a sigh of relief.

"My god!" Emmett cried, putting his hands over his face, "Does that woman come with an off switch?"

I slapped Emmett on the back of the head, "She's in labor, she's allowed a little bitchiness!"

Emmett muttered under his breath at we approached Edward and Rose sitting in the waiting room with the kids. The twins jumped up and ran to me, I swung them up into my arms and gave them each a kiss.

"You two are almost getting too big for me to carry," I said wistfully.

"No we're not, Mommy," Keely argued. "See, you've got us."

Aina held onto my neck with all of her strength, "I hope I'm never too big for you to hold, Mommy."

I choked back a little sob, "Me too, baby."

It took another four hours before Alice began to dilate to the right degree and the baby began to drop down to zero. The nurses moved her to the delivery room while Jasper, Esme and I followed. And, for as long as it took for her to get to this point, the chaos began to ensue in a matter of seconds. The birth happened so quickly, I didn't even have time to slip out like I had planned.

Soon, Alice was lying there with a pink bundle of joy in her arms, cooing over the tiny thing while Jasper held a video camera to take everything in.

"Jasper," Alice said quietly, "Put that thing down and come say 'hi' to your daughter."

I took the camera out of his hands so he could slip onto the edge of the bed with his wife and hold the new baby – Jacinda, or Jacee for short.

I put my hand over my lower belly as I watched them stare lovingly at their newborn – just six more months.

**Next up: Leah takes the stand**


	11. Chapter 11

**EPOV **

**The trial continues…**

It was only Emmett with me this time, as Jasper stayed behind to be with his family. We sat in the front row of the courtroom again with Leah and Jacob just next to us. Jake had been very supportive of Leah over the past few weeks, helping her get through the pregnancy and prepping her for the testimony.

Mr. Jenks had the paternity test results that said, unequivocally, James is the father of Leah's baby. And, further more, he had e-mails that James had sent throughout their relationship that showed how he lured her in, asked her to steal information for him and subsequently dumped her without a second thought.

The e-mail he sent after Leah told him she was pregnant was classic Volchok—just a simple "sucks to be you."

Leah was the last witness for the prosecution on the day. I gave her hand a gentle squeeze before she stood up to take the stand. The bailiff had to help her up into the chair as her belly has ballooned to about the size of a watermelon.

She didn't waste anytime playing coy, she openly glared at James from the get-go; you could practically feel the hatred. Mr. Jenks began his questioning—pulling out the evidence as he went. First was the e-mails, detailing the plot to stalk my wife and children; and then he talked about their relationship.

Leah admitted she wanted to hurt us at first, she talked about how she was still upset at the time about Charlie marrying Sue and how she wanted to only scare Bella a little bit.

She said she knew nothing about the idea of James threatening Bella into meeting for sex in order to save our children for harm. Had she known, she said, she would never have gone along with James' demands.

Then came the big whammy—the pregnancy. I looked to the jury as Leah tearfully explained how callous and cruel James was when he heard the news. One of the ladies in the jury let a tear drop and turned to glare at James with pure, unadulterated hatred in her eyes.

This was going well.

Then it was time for the cross examination. James' scumbag attorney stood up and spoke to Leah so condescendingly, I wanted to rip his throat out. He scoffed at the idea that Leah was truly repentant about how she wanted to hurt my family. He claimed she was only looking for some kind of immunity now that she could be considered an accessory to the plot.

Leah didn't even flinch, she simply looked at the attorney and said, "Sir, I am very sorry for ever wanting to hurt Bella and Edward's family. If I do end up in jail because of it, I know I deserve it."

The attorney chuckled scornfully, "That's a very nice act, Miss Clearwater, but do you expect this courtroom to believe you just woke up one day and were remorseful about what you did?"

"No," she responded simply, "Because it wasn't born over night. I began to regret everything as soon as I handed those photos over to James."

"Oh, you mean it wasn't just because my client lost interest in you?"

"At first, maybe," she admitted. "But, I've come to terms with the fact that he used me...that he never did love me, like he said he did."

The attorney scoffed again, which caused the judge to clear his throat, "Mr. Murphy, unless you have something relevant to say, please move on."

The attorney took a sip of water before continuing. "Miss Clearwater, when did you realize you were pregnant?"

"When I was about two months along," she replied.

"And, were you still in a relationship with Mr. Volchok at the time?"

"Yes…sort of," she replied.

"What do you mean by 'sort of?'"

"Well, we had been seeing less of each other."

"I see," the attorney replied. "So, when you felt that my client was pulling away from you, how did that make you feel?"

"Bad," she replied with a sardonic chuckle, "How would you feel?"

Mr. Murphy ignored her quip, "So, when did you decide you would try to trap him by getting pregnant?"

"Objection, your honor!" Mr. Jenks said, standing up. "Mr. Murphy is making assumptions about Miss Clearwaters mental state and motivations."

"Sustained," the judge said. "Mr. Murphy, if you have no further question for Miss Clearwater pertaining to this case, and not her pregnancy, then I will ask the witness to step down."

"Your honor," Mr. Murphy replied. "Why is it that the prosecution gets to use Miss Clearwater's pregnancy to paint my client as a cad, and I can't suggest that this might not be the case?"

"That doesn't have anything to do with this case," Judge Nelson said. "So, if you please, either change your line of questioning or allow me to excuse the witness."

Mr. Murphy seemed to be grinding his teeth as he stared up at the judge reprovingly. "I have no further questions, your honor."

After Leah stepped down, the prosecutor said he had no further witnesses. It was time for the summations – Mr. Jenks gave a very stirring speech about the evidence and how James targeted us for years. Mr. Murphy didn't deviate from his previous line of reasoning, that all of the evidence and testimonies were just part of some kind of conspiracy against his client.

It made me feel confident that the jury didn't seem to buy any of the defenses' bullshit. They were sent back to deliberate, while Emmett, Jacob and I took Leah out for a quick bite to eat. We had just paid the tab when Mr. Jenks called and told us the jury was getting ready to come back to the courtroom to deliver the verdict.

We ran back from across the street and made it just in time to see the jury filing back into their stand. We took our previous positions and waited anxiously to hear the verdict. We rose for Judge Nelson briefly before he asked us to be seated and asked for the jury foreman to hand him the verdict. He read it and handed it back, seemingly satisfied with what he saw, and that made my heart beat faster.

"Mr. Foreman, on the charge of trespassing, how does the jury find?"

"We find the defendant guilty, your honor."

"On the charge of blackmail, how does the jury find?"

"We find the defendant guilty, your honor."

The judge looked in James' direction, "And, on the final count of assault, how does the jury find?"

"We find the defendant guilty, your honor."

The four of us broke out in celebration as the few people present in support of the defense cried out in anguish. The judge banged the gavel to silence us and we sat back down.

"James Volchok, I sentence you to fifteen years in prison, with a possibility of parole after seven years," Judge Nelson said.

Mr. Murphy jumped to his feet, "Your honor, that is a bit excessive, don't you think?"

"Considering not only the extent of the crimes, but also the lengths at which Mr. Volchok seemed willing to go to in order to get out of taking any responsibility for his actions, I'd say seven years is the least he could do, Mr. Murphy," the judge replied.

"Well, I'd just like to let your honor know that the defense plans to appeal this decision," Murphy said.

Judge Nelson scoffed, "Well, good luck with that Mr. Murphy. As for now, the bailiff will take Mr. Volchok back to jail."

The judge dismissed the courtroom and as soon as I stepped outside I pulled out my phone.

"Hello?" Bella replied after she picked up the phone.

"Hey Angel, the trial's over…the jury found James guilty on all charges and the judge sentenced him to fifteen years," I said.

She was silent on the other end for what seemed like forever. And then, I heard her utter a choked sob.

"Really?" She asked, her voice shaking with her sobs.

"Yes, my love, it's over," I replied. "I'll be home soon."

"I love you," she whispered.

"I love you more."

**BPOV**

I set the phone down and let the hysterics overtake me. The kids were all taking a nap, so I knew I wouldn't risk them seeing me like this. But, I was just so overjoyed – my nightmare was over. A burden had been lifted off of me, and I felt as though I could finally breathe again.

We were all going over to Alice and Jasper's after the trial was over to see the new baby. It was interesting to see how the kids were with the addition to our family – the twins loved little Jacee, they wanted to hold her, but I was worried that they wouldn't be strong enough yet.

As soon as the baby was a little bit bigger and less fragile, I would let them sit with Jacee in their laps. I think it would be good for them to learn how to handle a baby.

Edward walked in just as the kids were waking up, and I ran into his arms and kissed him all over. I still couldn't believe James finally got what he deserved. Edward sat us down on the floor near the steps as he returned my kisses just as fervently. We both needed a serious release.

"I love you so much, Angel," he breathed as we finally pulled apart.

"I love you, too," I replied as my voice broke with emotion for the second time today.

Suddenly, I heard little footsteps coming down the hall upstairs. Aina and Keely rounded the corner and their eyes lit up when they saw their daddy. They ran down to him and he swung them both around in circles. While they caught his attention, I went upstairs to get the younger kids out of bed.

Owen met me in the hallway in front of the nursery, he was holding his arms out for me to pick him up. I set him on my hip as I walked in to find Alys slowly coming to. She rubbed her sweet little eyes and looked up at me.

"Mommy," she said as she yawned.

"Ready to get up, Babygirl?"

I set Owen down so I could get Alys out of the crib. "We're going to have to get you a big girl bed soon, huh?"

She just looked at me, "OK."

I smiled and led the two of them downstairs. Edward was sitting on the couch with the twins and he looked up as we walked in, "Alice just called your cell, she's wondering when we're going over."

"As soon as possible," I replied. "Do a couple of little girls need to get ready?"

The twins gasped in unison before jumping off their dad's lap and running back up the stairs. I gave Alys to Edward just as my phone began ringing again.

"Geez, Alice is particularly impatient today," I said as I took my phone.

But the number wasn't Alice's. It said 'Unknown,' and I've learned from experience not to answer it when it said that – it was either a solicitor or…well, someone I didn't want to talk to. I decided to let it go to voicemail as Edward stared at me in confusion.

"Who is it?"

"An unknown number," I replied. "So, I'll just let them leave a message."

He chuckled as he bounced Alys on his knee. She giggled along with him while I stood back and watched the two of them, letting that wonderful, contented feeling settle into my chest. Owen tugged on my pant leg and I lifted him up as the twins ran back downstairs.

"We're ready!" They yelled.

"OK, let's go see the baby," I said as Edward and I ushered the kids to the car.

As Edward drove to Alice and Jasper's house, I noticed a 'for sale' sign in someone's yard and was hit with a sudden thought.

"Edward, were you serious when you said we should get a bigger house?"

"Yes," he replied simply. "I've already been looking."

"Without me?"

"Nothing serious," he said gently. "I've just been trying to get a sense of what the market is like right now. You know, it's not the best time to buy or sell a home – what with the credit crunch and all."

"But, we could use more room," I said absentmindedly. "What if we just remodel?"

"You mean add on to our house?"

"Why now?" I asked. "We've got the yard space to expand – we could build off of the living room. Or, we could remodel the basement! That would be great, we could take that storage space and turn it into a room for the twins."

He was quiet for a moment, "That could work. That would be enough room for the two of them for a long time."

"Yes, and then the boys could share a room and Alys could have her own room."

"That'll be a problem when Owen gets older and wants his own room."

"Well, we deal with that problem when it happens," I replied. "If worse comes to worse, we remodel the attic, too."

"Our house is going to be nothing but bedrooms," he laughed.

"Sweetie, there's going to be seven of us, it comes with the territory!"

"We'll probably need to install more bathrooms too, then," he mused. "We'll definitely need to put one downstairs if that's where the girls are going to be – a big one, too, if they have to share it."

I smiled and took his hand, "We'll figure it out. We can talk to a contractor soon and get an estimate."

"I could probably pull a few strings at work," he said with a smile. "See if anyone can recommend a patient who works in construction."

I laughed and turned to see Alys had drifted off to sleep again, it doesn't take much for her to doze off during car rides. When we got to Alice's, Edward took the other three kids out while I gently lifted Alys out of her seat. I was trying not to wake her, but she stirred when I shut the car door and looked up at me with that sleepy look again.

"Mommy," she said, it sounded like a question.

"Yes, baby," I replied.

She looked down towards my belly and patted it with her left hand, "Baby?"

I smiled, "Yes, there's a baby in there."

Her little, angelic face gazed back up at me with searching eyes. After a moment, she broke out into a smile identical to mine. It was amazing how much she looked like me – even more so than either one of the twins, if that was possible. Although, it was only fair; I mean, Owen is the spitting image of his father, so why can't I have a Mini Me?

I took my little girl inside and was greeted at the door by Alice and her new little bundle of joy. Alys reached out to pat the baby gently on the head.

"Baby," she said again.

"Yep, that's my baby, Al," Alice said. "That's your cousin, Jacee."

"Jay-Cee," Alys repeated, still stroking her cousin's head.

We walked into the living room to find Emmett, Rosalie, Carlisle and Esme there. I sighed inwardly as I looked at my family sitting around me – I wouldn't have been able to handle this whole James ordeal without them. And, despite some of this unnecessary unpleasantness, I couldn't believe how amazing my life has turned out – I'm doing what I love, I get to live close to my family and friends, I'm a mother to the four (soon to be five) most beautiful children in the world, and I'm married to Edward.

And to think, if I had never gone out to Pullman, none of this would have been possible. I thought about my mom just then, and wished she could be here to experience this with me. I've never been one for religion, but a part of me did believe she was somewhere watching all of this happen.

Edward caught my wistful expression and walked to sit next to me. He put an arm around my shoulders and kissed me gently on my left temple while his hand rested gently on my little belly bump.

"You were thinking about Renee, weren't you?"

"How did you know?" I asked, startled.

"You've been talking to her in your sleep," he said. "And, I just guess from that longing look in your eyes that you'd like her to still be a part of your life."

I nodded, "I miss her every day."

"Who, Momma?" Aina asked as she crawled into Edward's lap.

"I'll tell you later, sweetie."


	12. Chapter 12

**BPOV **

**July**

I'm at five months now, and it's time for us to get the ultrasound that will tell us the sex of the baby. On all of my previous pregnancies, I haven't really minded much what the sex was, but this time around we want another boy.

I dropped the kids off with Rosalie and met Edward at the OB-Gyn. We were still working with Dr. Johnson, and Edward had suggested not bringing the kids around on my doctor visits anymore for some reason. I suspected he didn't like Dr. Johnson that much—there seemed to be some animosity between them since my first visit a few months ago.

And, a part of me had to admit I wasn't Dr. Johnson's biggest fan, either. For a gynecologist, she was surprisingly anti-kid; and every time I took my children in with me for a visit, she seemed to look at them with disdain. I also got the feeling that she didn't think much of me—I think she viewed me as some uneducated housewife who just sits and waits for the next time she's able to pop out an infant.

Not that she ever bothered to ask me about my life outside of my pregnancy. She never even asked what I did for a living—at least then I could wipe that smug look off of her face when she finds out I am, in fact, a very talented photographer and get to work from home.

But, I was bigger than bragging to some small-minded, self-important doctor. Besides, being that my husband is a doctor, I've met quite a few of those in my life.

Edward and I walked into the room with the ultrasound machine and were relived to see it was just the technician there to help us, not the doctor. Everything seemed to be going well, he greeted us and I got myself ready on the table provided for me. Then the technician began his work. He put the gel on my belly and rubbed the censor around rather roughly, if you ask me.

I was about to complain when he turned his attention to the screen.

"OK, there's the head," he said pointing to the image on the screen that appeared to be the baby's body curled into a ball, sucking its thumb.

Well duh, Captain Obvious, I thought to myself. He continued, "There are it's hands and feet. It's heartbeat is normal."

He took the censor off my belly and turn to the machine next to him that was printing out the photos from the ultrasound.

"Here you are," he said, handing them to me carelessly.

"Wait!" Edward said, grabbing the technician's wrist, "What's that behind the baby? That big blob."

The man sighed in exasperation and looked to the photos, "It looks like just a blob to me."

Edward glared at him, "The only thing that should be in my wife's womb is a baby, not a blob. That has to be something important, don't you think?"

The man put the censor back on my belly and moved it to get a better look at what the blob could be. Suddenly, I saw a third foot in the equation and let out a little yelp.

"Is that…another baby?" I asked.

"Either that or you've got yourself a mutant baby," the technician quipped.

"Why don't you keep all comments to yourself, hmm?" Edward spat back at him.

The man rolled his eyes and took more photos, showing both of the babies. He went to hand the prints to me when I cleared my throat gently.

"Umm...could you tell us the sex of the babies?" I asked, beyond pissed off at this point.

He sighed, "A couple of boys, most likely."

He then took a washcloth and went to get the gel off of my midsection when Edward took the cloth from him, "I'll do that, thank you very much. You know, you've been very rude to my wife today. And I plan on reporting you to the medical center board."

The man rolled his eyes again and left the room. As soon as the door closed, I let all the anger burst forth from me.

"I can't believe that prick! I should go out there and shove the ultrasound censor up his ass!"

Edward gently wiped the gel from my stomach and put a soothing hand on my shoulder. "It's OK, sweetie. If that asshole thinks he can get away with treating the wife and daughter-in-law of two of Seattle's most respected doctors, he's sorely mistaken."

"Good, I hope he gets fired!" I shouted as I lowered my shirt and turned to get up.

Edward took my hand and pulled me off of the table. I grumbled all the way to the front desk where I gave the receptionist a check for the co-pay and stomped down to my car. Edward stopped me as I was about to get in and took me into his arms.

"Don't let the stupid asshole make you so upset, love," he whispered into my hair.

I took a deep breath, "I know, I know...I'll be OK, I just need to get back to my babies and then I'll be fine."

"OK, I'll be home around 5:30," I replied, kissing my wife gently.

"And I'll be waiting anxiously for your return, as always."

**EPOV**

I knew I had to make this rotten day up to Bella. I mean, finding out we were having not just another boy, but two, was supposed to be this big, joyous occasion, and that asshole technician ruined it for us.

After sending a scathing e-mail to the guy's superiors over at the board of trustees, I began devising a pretty elaborate plan. First of all, I was going to get home earlier than expected so I could cook dinner for Bella and have a romantic evening with her. I called Alice and told her everything, and she was more than willing to take the kids for the night so Bella and I could celebrate our good news.

Then, I called a travel agent friend of mine to see what kind of package deals I could get to take my family to Hawaii. I wanted to be sure it wouldn't be too much, because we were also hoping to save up to remodel our basement.

But, I wanted to take the whole family on vacation before Bella becomes too pregnant to want to travel. I found Dave's number in my rolodex and dialed it.

"World Class Travel, this is Steve."

"Yes, is Dave Cuomo there?" I asked.

"Just a moment, please."

Some awful lite rock music filled the receiver as I waited on hold for Dave.

"This is Dave," came his voice suddenly.

"Dave, hey man, it's Edward Cullen," I replied.

"Cullen? How's it going, man? How you been?"

"Great! Listen, I'm in need of a favor."

"Anything for you, bro."

I smirked slightly; it was nice that Dave still talked like a frat boy from time to time.

"I was hoping to take a quick, cheap vacation to somewhere like Hawaii for me and my family. And I mean cheap, because we're saving up to remodel our home for the next little addition to our family."

"How many kids have you got now?"

"This will be numbers five and six in December—so, can you help me out?"

"Of course, man. Let me see what I can do."

I heard some typing in the background before Dave continued. "OK, I can do a flight package that runs about $450 per adults and about $150 per kid 6-and-under, roundtrip. How old's your youngest?"

"Alice is not quite two and Owen is three."

"Perfect, so they'll be sitting on yours and your wife's laps, and that's two less tickets for you. I can get you for four nights in the Waikiki Hotel for about $70 a night—how does that sound."

I began adding the number in my head: the plane tickets would be $1,200 total and the hotel would be just under $300. Throw in about $1,000 for all other expenses and it comes to $2,500 -- that didn't seem too bad.

"Yeah, can you book that for me?" I asked.

"Absolutely! How about the beginning of August? Say, the 3rd through the 7th?"

I looked at my calendar—that was Wednesday to Sunday. "Perfect."

"Great," Dave said. "Can you come in on Monday so we can finalize everything?"

"Absolutely," I replied.

"Excellent; see you then."

I hung up and checked the clock: 3 p.m. Alice would be taking Bella and the kids out to see a movie, like we had planned. I told my receptionist to hold all my calls and ran to my car. I drove to the store to get what I needed to make Bella's favorite: Chicken scampi with bowtie pasta.

I got home before four and began to get things in order. I set a pot of water on the stove to boil before running around cleaning up miscellaneous things. Then I put three CD's in our stereo to play on shuffle: some Al Green, D'Angelo and Sade. It wasn't a subtle playlist by any means, but I wasn't in the mood to play coy tonight.

I set up the dining room table with candles and our nice China before taking some of the roses I had bought and tearing the petals and throwing some on the table.

When I got back to the kitchen, the water was nearing a boil, so I got the rest of the ingredients out to begin cooking. I seasoned the chicken and added some olive oil to the pan. I browned the chicken quickly before putting some garlic in. When I turned back to the pot of water, it had reached a nice boil, so I added the pasta.

I stirred the pasta while I finished the chicken and set some garlic bread in the oven to broil for a moment.

I had the pasta all drained and the bread out of the oven by the time Bella walked into the house. She stepped into the kitchen and stopped in her tracks, looking at the scene before her.

"What's all this?" She asked.

"Dinner," I replied.

"But, the kids are at Alice's for the night."

"I know, I asked her to take them for the night," I said.

Bella's lips curved into a sly smile, "Mr. Cullen is trying to seduce me."

"How's it working so far?" I asked as I pulled her into my arms.

"Pretty good," she replied, giving me a quick kiss. "Do it some more."

I grinned and found the remote to the stereo just behind me. As I hit the play button, the sounds of "Let's stay together" filled the room – causing Bella to rest her forehead against my shoulder and laugh.

"That's too good," she said as her laughter died down. "What better song to start the night off with?"

"Actually, I was hoping it would play that D'Angelo song you like so much," I replied with mock chagrin.

"Later," she whispered, kissing my earlobe, "When we're ready to head to the bedroom."

"We could skip dinner," I suggested.

She pulled back and looked at me seriously, "Honey, I'm hungry and I'm pregnant – I want food."

I laughed as I led her to the table and sat her down for dinner. I went back into the kitchen and served the food out on the plates. When I walked back in, Bella was leaning back against her chair with her eyes closed. She was rubbing her protruding belly with a wistful smile on her face.

I stood in the doorway and watched her for a moment before setting her plate down in front of her. I didn't want to bring her out of her happy place, but she did say she was hungry.

"Bon appetit," I said.

"Mmmm, chicken scampi," she said as she tore into the food hungrily. "This is delicious, Edward."

"Have you eaten much today?" I asked as she bent her head down over her plate and attacked her food with a vengeance.

"No," she replied with a mouthful of pasta. "I never found the time between getting the kids up and over to Rosalie's, then going to the doctors. I had some popcorn at the movie, but the kids ate most of that."

"Angel, you can't go without eating when you're five months pregnant," I scolded. "It's not good for you or the baby."

She raised her head and gave me an exasperated look. "I know that, Edward. It doesn't happen regularly – just today."

I nodded and went back to my dinner. I had to admit, she was right – I really outdid myself on this one. It would give Mario Batali a run for his money.

Once we were finished with dinner, I cleared the plates while Bella made her way upstairs. After putting the dishes in the dishwasher and setting the stereo to the aforementioned D'Angelo song, I walked up to find Bella already lying on the bed naked.

"So, I see we're not wasting any time tonight," I said as I rid myself of my clothes and hopped onto the bed with her.

She pulled me close to her, "You can have all the foreplay you want later. Right now, I need my husband to make love to me."

"That's all I needed to hear," I replied as I positioned myself between her thighs.

Sometimes I almost wish she could be in this constant state of pregnancy – where her body seems to feel just a little bit softer, a little bit rounder. I massaged her thighs as I entered her slowly, taking my time to enjoy the feeling of her inner walls wrapping around me. It was so heavenly – and it just hit me that we hadn't been intimate like this for a couple of months now.

"Bella, my love, let's make a promise," I said as my hips moved in a steady rhythm with hers.

"Anything," she whispered.

"Let's take at least on weekend a month to do this – just be alone like we are right now."

She looked unsure, "But…what about the kids?"

Bella has this habit of believing spending time away from our children was unforgivably selfish, "It's just one weekend a month – we'll leave on Saturday and be back before Sunday night, I promise."

"Ok," Bella said after deliberating for a moment. "As long as it's not too long."

I smiled down at my wife and captured her lips in a searing kiss before returning to our previous activities. My hips picked up a steady rhythm as my angel began to give me all of her normal signs that she was getting close to her release.

"I love you, Bella – I love you so much!" I moaned as I released into her.

Her nails dug themselves into my shoulders as she came, and I reveled in the sweet yet painful feeling of this. As we both slowed down, our soft panting filled the room, mingling with the strains of the music playing in the living room.

I felt Bella's lips attach themselves to my neck and work their way up towards my jaw. I turned my face slightly to meet her lips and attacked them thoroughly. It was almost enough to make me ready for round two.

**BPOV**

Edward and I lay there in the afterglow of our lovemaking. The stereo was still playing; Sade's "No Ordinary Love" filled my ears as I curled myself into Edward's side. I was completely peaceful until the thought of our house situation entered my brain and refused to leave.

I groaned lightly and lifted my face to my husband's – he gave me a worried look.

"What's wrong, Angel?"

"We haven't made much headway on this whole remodel thing, have we?"

He sighed, "I've been talking to a few guys – but, there was something else I wanted to set some money aside for, as well."

"What?"

"Well," he said hesitantly, "I booked us a trip to Hawaii for next month."

I raised my head, "What? Why? Why would you do that without talking to me first? We always talk about things like that!"

"I know, it's just that I think we need a vacation," he replied. "Don't you?"

"We need to pay for our remodel, Edward!"

"Don't worry, I called my buddy Dave at his travel agency and he got us a great deal," Edward said, rubbing my back soothingly. "It's not going to cost us but, maybe, $5,000."

I relaxed a bit at that – $5,000 wasn't a big chunk out of our remodel budget.

"Besides," he continued, "If we get some guys to start on the house before the end of the month, they might like to have us out of their hair for a bit while they work."

"That's true enough, I guess," I said. "So…Hawaii, huh?"

"Yeah, think about it! Sitting on the beach with the whole family – the kids are going to love it."

"OK," I said. "Let's go to Hawaii."

**A/N: The D'Angelo song I had in mind was "Untitled (How does it feel)," which you should definitely check out on YouTube (it's quite possibly the greatest music video, ever!)**

**Also, the name Dave Cuomo comes from a buddy of mine who is a folk singer in Brooklyn – check him out on Myspace, he rocks!**


	13. Chapter 13

**BPOV **

**August**

The construction workers have been working on the basement for about a week now – they are turning the large storage space we were using into a room for the twins and adding an extra bathroom, as well. Aina and Keely are very excited to have this space downstairs. They were treating it as though it would be their own private hideaway.

And, I let them choose the colors and decorations of the room – half would be light pink for Aina with a pretty motif of flowers, ballerinas and Hello Kitty. The other half was lavender with hearts and faeries for Keely.

The space was already starting to look very nice by the time we left for the airport for our trip to Hawaii. I was hoping the work would be done by the time we got back, so the girls could be welcomed with their new room.

The plane trip from Seattle to Honolulu was just over six hours, and thankfully Alys slept peacefully in my lap the whole way. Though, I wasn't sure how she could sleep comfortably considering the bump that protruded from my midsection. I guess that kid can just sleep through anything and in any position.

In fact, she curled herself against my belly with a contented smile on her face. At one point, she even put a hand against my stomach and sighed.

I was glad she was reacting this way to my pregnancy instead of regressing. I had been reading that the baby of the family can have a tendency to revert back to infant-like behavior when the idea of a new baby is introduced. But, Alys liked to rub my belly and ask, "Baby?"

I made sure to wake Alys just before the plane touched down so the jolt from the landing wouldn't scare her. She yawned and smiled at me.

"Momma?"

"We're there, baby," I replied, kissing her forehead softly.

We were able to get off of the plane before the other passengers because we had so many small children with us. I carried Alys with one arm, and took hold of Aina's hand with the other. Edward grabbed a hold of Owen and Keely and followed me closely as we made our way through the airport.

There was a car waiting for us at the Enterprise rental place – a nice, hybrid SUV, with four child safety seats. Our hotel was located just off of Waikiki beach and the water was so crystal clear, it looked like I was looking at a painting or a photograph – it just couldn't be real.

Luckily, I had brought one of my Nikons with me – I just might be able to get a few photos I can sell when we get home.

Edward and I set the suitcases in the closet – since we were only staying a few days, there was really no need to unpack. Aina and Keely began bouncing on their bed, proclaiming their desire to hit the beach.

"OK, OK," Edward replied. "Get your suits on and let's get some sun block on you."

The girls grabbed their suits and ran into the bathroom while Edward and I changed Alys and Owen into their suits and slathered them with sunscreen. We did the same to the twins when they came out of the bathroom in a rush to see the water.

"You two act as though you've never seen the ocean before," I quipped as I rubbed the lotion onto Aina's face. "We do live in Washington, you know."

"Yeah, but this water is prettier," Keely replied. "It's…I don't know…more blue."

"You've got to admit, Bells, it is ten times cooler than the ocean in Washington," Edward said.

"True," I agreed. "But, remember to be careful you two, OK? Don't go into water any higher than your waist."

"Yes Momma," they replied.

The children waited impatiently while Edward changed into his swim trunks. I tore through my suitcase, but couldn't find the suit that I packed.

"Sweetie, have you seen my black swimsuit?" I called through the bathroom door.

"No," he replied. "Why don't you check the outside pocket on your bag?"

I opened the zipper and dug through the contents until I pulled out a white bikini with pink flowers. I turned to knock on the bathroom door.

"Yeah?" Edward replied, opening the door.

I held up the offending garment, "What is this?"

He smirked, "A present from Alice, probably."

"Oh, don't act like you didn't have anything to do with it," I replied, not letting him off the hook that easily.

"I did – come on, Bella, that black thing was awful, if covered you up too much," he explained. "Just because you're pregnant doesn't mean you need to dress like a grandma."

"I feel more comfortable in the one-piece," I replied.

"Well…then just throw something over that," he suggested.

I sighed and made my way into the bathroom as he exited. I pulled the bikini on with my back to the mirror, afraid of how horrible I might look in the suit. Once I had tied the strings behind my neck, I took a deep breath and turned around.

It wasn't so bad, I suppose – the suit fit, and it looked fabulous from the chest up. But, there was still something about allowing my pregnant belly to just hang out like this. It looked a bit awkward to me. I mean, I knew people weren't going to assume I'm just fat – it's pretty obvious that I'm with child – but, they would still be staring at me.

I walked out of the bathroom and found a sarong in my suitcase. I wrapped it around myself and tied it near my left shoulder. Edward walked up behind me and wrapped his arms around my waist.

"You do realize you don't need the cover-up, right? You're beyond stunning in that bikini – especially with that beautiful belly."

"You're biased," I said as I covered his hands with my own.

"Come on! We want to go swimming!" Keely said as she bound over to us and began pulling on my arms.

"OK, OK, don't be pushy, little girl," I scolded lightly. "The ocean isn't going anywhere."

I grabbed some towels and the bottle of sunscreen as we led the kids to the beach. It wasn't as crowded as I thought it was going to be, which was a relief. I didn't want to lose one of the kids in the shuffle of people walking around.

We found a couple of chairs and set everything down. Edward secured some safety vests on the twins before following them into the water while I took Owen and Alys to a shallow, lagoon area. Owen looked too precious in his little water wings as he splashed around in the water. I held Alys in my lap and let both of our feet touch the water. She seemed apprehensive about getting her feet wet, though.

I looked out a bit and noticed little fish swimming just out of reach of human contact. I pulled Owen near me and pointed off in the distance.

"Look at the fish, Owen. Do you see them?"

He strained his eyes and stared off for a while before he noticed the colorful creatures gliding just below the surface. When he finally saw them, he clapped his hands and laughed. He began to move towards them, but I held his arm, "No, sweetie, you can't go out there, it's too deep."

He began to cry softly, but I soothed him quickly, "It's OK, baby, we'll go see some other fish tomorrow, OK?"

He sniffed and nodded his head. Alys tugged on my hair gently, trying to get my attention. She pointed to the water, an indication that she wanted to get down in the pool. I made sure her safety vest was secure before I set her on her feet. She splashed her little feet in the water and laughed, just like she had seen her brother do.

I smiled and watched my two young ones play in the shallow water. I hadn't noticed how much time had passed until I looked up and saw the sun slowly falling in the horizon. I lifted Alys and Owen into my arms and carried them back to where we had set out our blankets. Edward was just approaching with the twins – when he noticed me with Owen and Alys and rushed over to me.

"Bella! You can't carry both of them at the same time! It's too much weight!"

"I'm fine," I said, "I just carried them a few yards, it's not a big deal."

"It is, you can't carry too much," he replied. "Owen's getting too big for you to hold in your condition."

"My condition?"

"Sorry, wrong choice of words. But you know what I mean – pregnant women need to take it easy."

"I know, and I know you're just being overprotective – it's what I love about you," I said as I leaned in and kissed him.

He chuckled and turned to the twins, "So, ready for dinner?"

"Yeah!" They said in unison.

"OK, let's see what they have for room service."

**EPOV**

The day after we arrived, we took the kids to the Waikiki Aquarium. Owen gazed around wide-eyed at the marine life swimming just behind the glass. A large manta ray swam by in one of the bigger tanks and Owen pointed to it excitedly. He twisted in my arms, trying to follow the path of the fish as it glided effortlessly through the water.

Alys, however, hid her face in Bella's shoulder. The bigger fish seemed to scare her, so Bella took her and Aina over to see the colorful fish that occupied the aquarium's coral farm.

I was loving the relaxing family time, but I did have a surprise in mind for Bella on our third night in Hawaii. After spending the day walking around Waikiki with the kids, we got back to our hotel and found four familiar people in the lobby – Emmett, Rosalie, Ethan and Madeline.

Bella stopped and gasped as she noticed her brother and sister-in-law standing there.

"What…what are they doing here?" She asked, turning to me.

"Well, I was hoping you and I could spend at least one of our nights here alone – we haven't done that yet this month."

Bella shook her head and laughed, "You're diabolical!"

"I know," I replied, kissing her softly.

"But…how did you get my brother to agree with this?" She asked as we approached our family.

"Well, that's the thing," I said hesitantly, "I kind of told them we'd take all the kids tomorrow night. You know – return the favor."

"Yeah, I figured there had to be some kind of catch," she laughed.

Rosalie and Emmett took all of the kids up to their room while Bella and I went up to change.

I took her to the Shore Bird restaurant, which sounded nice and promising. Much of the cuisine of Hawaii is seafood, which isn't good for a pregnant woman to eat, so I was hopeful that this restaurant would feature more different choices. And, it didn't disappoint.

Bella enjoyed a big plate of pork ribs. Well, enjoyed is putting it lightly – Bella dug into her food like she hadn't eaten in days. Although, I knew she had been eating properly, because I've made sure to keep her to a feeding schedule on this trip.

"Good food, hon?" I asked.

"Mm-Hmm," she replied as she wiped some barbeque sauce from her mouth. "That was so good! I need this sauce recipe, it's to die for!"

"Well, let's see if the waitress can get the chef to tell us," I suggested.

I wrangled our server to ask the cooks in the back if they were willing to give me the recipe – I even offered $50. The server came back with a scrap of paper in her hand, "Here you go, sir."

"Thank you, and here," I said, handing her the money, "Give this to the cooks."

"Oh, no sir – we can't accept that."

"I insist," I pressed.

"No, really, they were just flattered that someone wanted the recipe! They were more than happy to give this to you."

I thanked her again and left a hefty tip on the table before I guided Bella out of the restaurant. We went back to our hotel and Rosalie had set everything up like I wanted. She set out the things we would need to enjoy a nice bubble bath together – a bottle of vanilla scented bubbles and some lavender scented bath salts.

While I filled up the tub, Bella undressed in the bedroom. I looked through the slight opening of the bathroom door in time to see the light, summer dress fall from her body to a pile on the floor at her feet. I continued to watch as she reached up and unclasped her hair, letting it fall past her lovely shoulders.

I shut the water off and turned back just as Bella entered the bathroom in all her glowing, naked, pregnant glory. I removed the rest of my clothing before I stepped into the tub and helped her into it with me. She rested against my chest as we lay there and let the warm water relax our muscles.

I waited at least a half-an-hour in the tub before helping Bella out and drying her off. I led her back into the bedroom and had her stretch out on the bed for a full-body massage. Rosalie left some rose scented oils and I had to admire her attention to detail – she managed to get just about all of Bella's favorite scents incorporated in the evening.

After all of this, I was more than ready to just get down to the business of making love. But, it seemed my lovely wife had other plans.

Bella reached over and took a hold of my cock firmly. She leaned over and wasted no time taking me into her mouth and sucking gently. Her hand aided her ministrations as she found a good, steady rhythm and brought me to climax very quickly.

After I composed myself again, I rolled us over so Bella's legs straddled my hips. She lowered herself onto me slowly, making every inch of my length come alive with aching need.

I grasped her hips and controlled the speed of our thrusts. I didn't want to come again too quickly, but I couldn't help it – anytime I had this intimate connection with my wife, I became almost too excited.

I was able to hold out until Bella let out a long, loud moan and convulsed with her climax. I shuddered and spill into her as she leaned forward and captured my lips roughly with her own. I rolled us onto our sides before pulling out of her and sighed contentedly as I watched her eyes close slowly as she drifted off. Being out all day had made her extremely tired – hell, it had made me extremely tired, as well – and I hummed to her gently as we both let sleep overtake us.


	14. Chapter 14

**BPOV **

**Monday: The Return**

The kids were sad that we had to return from Hawaii after only a few days—especially the twins. But, I cheered my girls up by reminding them of the beautiful new room that awaited them when we got home.

As we pulled up to the house, though, I noticed work trucks in the driveway. I turned to Edward, confusion etched all over my face.

"Shouldn't they be done with the construction by now?" I asked.

He shrugged, "Maybe they're just finishing up. We wouldn't want them to be leaving a big mess for us, would we?"

"Definitely not!" I replied.

Edward began removing our bags from the car as I unbuckled the kids and took them inside the house. I heard the sounds of drills echoing up from the basement and sighed in frustration—that didn't sound like cleaning to me, it sounded like the workers weren't done yet. I set the kids in front of the TV and asked the twins to watch their brother and sister while I walked downstairs to see what was taking so long.

It looked mostly done, except there was no paint on the walls in the room, but it looked like two of the guys were about to remedy that shortly. All of the noise was coming from the bathroom, where Jeremy, the chief contractor, was attempting to install a sink with two of his men.

"Hey Jeremy," I said once they took a break.

"Oh...you folks are home already? We weren't expecting you until the eighth," he explained.

"It is the eighth, Jeremy," I said, trying to remain patient. "And, we thought you'd be a bit further along than this."

"I know, but the sink you wanted for the bathroom was delivered late, and now we're trying to get it in—just came this morning."

I took a closer look at the sink they were attempting to install and sighed audibly—it wasn't even the one we had ordered. The girls picked a pink, translucent sink with a raised basin. This one was a plain, white, porcelain sink.

Jeremy noticed my frustration, "Is there something wrong, Mrs. Cullen?"

I shuddered at his referring to me as Mrs. Cullen. Ever since our incident with James, I hated being called that.

"This isn't the sink we ordered," I replied, beginning to lose my patience now. "We got the zephyr glass, corner sink."

Jeremy checked his work order and then looked at the box the sink came in, "Oh...yeah, I guess the sink manufacturers made a mistake on your order."

"Well, my husband and I paid more than $300 for the other sink, so you'll just have to send this one back and tell them to send the right one."

Jeremy looked hesitant, "That could take another week."

"I don't care, my daughters are getting the sink they wanted, case closed."

"You may have to pay extra," he continued.

I was taken aback by that, "I don't see why we should when we didn't get what we wanted to begin with."

"I mean for us, that's another week we won't be able to move on to another job."

I scoffed, "Please, with how lacking your work has been here, do you think I'll ever recommend you for another job? You're lucky I don't kick you all out right now and find another construction team!"

Edward was at my side immediately as my exasperated voice floated all the way upstairs.

"What's all this? Jeremy, you all were supposed to be a lot further along than this by the time we got home," Edward said, stepping in front of me.

"Yes, I know...your wife was just informing us of that fact," Jeremy replied.

I felt Edward bristle at the condescending tone in Jeremy's voice when he mentioned me, "You know what? Why don't you all just leave right now? I mean it! Just get the hell out of my house before I physically toss you out!"

"Calm down, Mr. Cullen," Jeremy tried to reason with him.

"NO! Get out, now!"

Jeremy looked to his workers, "Alright boys, pack up and let's get out of here."

The men wasted no time packing their tools away and removing themselves from our house. Once I heard the tires of their truck peel out on our driveway, I was hit with a sudden bout of worry.

"Edward, who is going to finish our basement?"

"Don't worry, Angel, I have a whole list of other construction companies that I looked through. Something tells me that anyone would be willing to step in and save the day on this one—you know, so they can be sure we'll always give them a glowing recommendation."

"True," I replied. "And, it's not like we don't have time before the babies are born—though, we may be cutting it close."

He smirked, "I'm sure we'll be fine. For now, I'm going to call Jasper and Emmett and see if they'll help me haul away this sink and paint the girls' room with me. And, I'm calling the company that sent us the wrong sink and threatening them with a lawsuit if they don't get us the right one by the time the new construction team arrives."

I wrapped my arms around his neck, "My knight in shining armor!"

"Well, I try."

**EPOV**

By strange coincidence, Jacob called not long after we got home to see how our trip went. When Bella informed him of our situation with the construction workers, he offered to bring some friends with some expertise in construction and plumbing and do the work himself.

I was a bit skeptical—I appreciated Jacob being so willing to help with everything, but it wasn't as though I could dismiss his history with Bella that easily.

But, I agreed, simply because there really wasn't much for him to do. The new sink—the right sink—would be arriving in two days, and Emmett and Jasper were taking Wednesday off to help me paint and get rid of the remains of the last work crew's debacles.

Jake and his friends showed up on Wednesday morning, right as a truck pulled up to deliver the sink. I liked how it all worked out—the guys would just put the sink in and be on their way. Everything else would be taken care of.

However, I didn't count on Bella interceding in anyway. As soon as all of the boys were hard at work, I heard the voices of my wife, my sister and Rosalie in the kitchen, plotting some kind of impromptu get-together.

Great, Bella was going to prolong Jacob's stay with a barbeque.

We were finished painting the room a little after 3 p.m., but still had to wait at least a day for the paint to dry to begin putting up all the decorations the twins had picked out. Jacob and his cohorts were almost finished putting the sink in, as well. All that was left was to put one last strip of calking around the edges of the sink's base.

Jasper, Emmett and I walked upstairs to see all of our wives busy in the kitchen. Bella was preparing a tortellini salad (one of my favorites), while Rosalie was getting some chicken breast, hamburgers and hotdogs ready for the grill. Alice chopped some veggies on a cutting board on the table near where Jacee was sitting in her car seat.

Jasper walked over to his wife and child and gave each a quick kiss while I put my arms around Bella.

"Rooms all painted," I said.

She turned to me and took my face in her hands, "Thank you, Sweetie. You know, you guys didn't have to do that—I'm sure Jacob and his friends would have done it for us."

I tensed up slightly, "It's not for Jacob's children now, is it?"

Bella sensed the sudden change in mood, and I immediately regretted my tone as tears welled up in her eyes, "I wasn't implying that, and you know it."

"I know, I'm sorry – I didn't mean it," I said as I tucked her head under my chin and swayed her back and forth gently. "I'm glad that Jacob is helping; it's very nice of him."

She sniffled a bit but didn't let go of her hold on me; she snuggled closer to my chest and sighed. "After all these years…you're…you're not jealous of him, are you?"

"No," I replied, unconvincingly.

"Because, he may have had me once – very briefly – but you have me forever."

"I know that."

"Good…just never forget it."

"I won't," I replied as I pulled us apart gently to kiss her.

We were getting a little more into our kiss than we had intended when I heard a cough from behind me. Jacob and his friends were standing there awkwardly, trying to get our attention.

"So, you just have to wait for that calking on the sink to dry and it's all done. Embry turned the water on, so if there's any problems, give us a call anytime."

"Well, good thing you're done," Bella said. "Because the barbeque is just getting started."

"You don't have to feed us, Bells," Jacob replied.

"I want to, you guys are helping us out so much," she countered. "We're so appreciative, right Edward?"

"We are, guys," I said enthusiastically. "Please stay, the girls made enough food for an army."

"Well, we are pretty hungry," Jacob amended.

"Speak for yourself, dude, I'm starving!" Embry quipped as he walked out to the backyard with Quil in tow.

"OK, looks like we're staying," Jacob laughed as he followed his friends.

Before he walked outside, Bella called to him, "I'm making a sponge cake, from Sue's recipe. That's your favorite, right?"

Jacob smiled, "You remembered that?"

Bella nodded before going back to cooking while Jacob turned to give me a strange look. I felt this shiver run down my spine as he ran around my backyard and played with my children – especially Keely. She has this attachment to him that I've never liked. Though, all of my kids love their 'Uncle Jake,' and that's always bothered me for some reason.

I was watching him lift Keely into the air and twirl her around when I vaguely heard Alice calling my name.

"Earth to Edward! Come in, Edward – do you copy?" She teased when I finally shook myself out of my trance.

"What's up?" I asked, still a bit dazed.

"Penny for your thoughts," she offered.

"Nothing…just thinking about when would be a good time to…get a pool," I said, hoping I could fool my very perceptive sister's intuitiveness.

"Uh-huh," she replied. "Well, could you do me a favor and run these veggies out to the grill while I put some sunscreen on Jacee?"

"Sure," I said as I grabbed the plate from her and took it outside.

Rosalie and Jasper were running the grill when I turned the corner, "Where's Em?"

"He was criticizing my grilling techniques, so I sent him to get beer," Rose said as she flipped a burger.

"Good thinking," I said as I placed the plate down on the side of the grill.

I heard one of the kids squeal and turned to find Embry being trampled on the bottom of a kiddie dog pile. I had to admit, Jacob and his friends are good with kids. But, I really wish they'd just have some of their own.

Owen noticed me watching and ran over. I caught him halfway and lifted him up to sit on my shoulders.

"Hey kids, why don't you go get daddy?" Embry asked.

Aina ran over and attached herself to my leg; Keely struggled out of Jacob's grasp so she could occupy the other one. Alys ran over and jumped around me until I leaned over and lifted her into my arms. My four children were all holding me in place and I couldn't help but feel a surge of happiness as they all laughed and hugged me tight.

Alys wrapped her arms around my neck and kissed my cheek – I returned the favor.

Bella and Alice walked out then, with Jacee in a cute little sundress that I was sure the two moms had sat fawning over for quite a few minutes. My wife walked over to me and the kids and laughed as she beheld the scene in front of her.

"Kids, what are you doing to your daddy?"

"Nothing," Keely replied.

"We're just hugging him, Mommy," Aina added.

"Momma!" Owen cried, holding his arms out to her.

Bella reached for him, but I turned before she could take his hands. "No, no, Son – Mommy can't carry you right now."

I set Alys down and she ran to Bella's side so her mommy could pick her up. I set Owen down and he did the same. He couldn't understand that he was too big for Bella to lift up when she's pregnant, and he began to cry when she lifted Alys into her arms.

"Come here, little man," Bella said, taking Owen's hand.

She led him to our porch swing and sat down so both Alys and Owen could sit on her lap. They both snuggled close to her as she gently pushed the swing back and forth. She hummed to them as their heads lulled sleepily to each of her shoulders.

I took the twins into each of my arms and sat them next to their mom and siblings on the big swing. Aina turned to Alys and brushed her hair away from her face before planting a soft kiss on her forehead. Alys opened her eyes and gave her big sister a smile as we all enjoyed the sway of the swing.

I leaned back and scanned the backyard to find Embry and Quil playing with Ethan, Aiden and Madeline. Jacob, however, was staring at us with an indescribable expression. I glared back with a smug look of my own – reminding him silently whose family this really is.

He noticed my stare, and began to glower.

"OK, food's done!" Rosalie called, placing a plate of meat on the picnic table.

Everybody but my family ran to the table to get their share of food, but we hung back and waited for the stampede to ebb.

Then I set the twins on the ground and they ran to join their cousins around the table. I took Owen from where he sat on Bella's lap and grabbed a couple of plates for our food. I was delighted to see Bella had made a lot of tortellini salad, and I dug in with gusto.

Bella sat and fed Alys at the end of the table – and Jacob sat near her and attempted to help her in the feeding. Jake held up a piece of cantaloupe and Alys bit into it hungrily. I sat across from Jacob, on Bella's other side, and set Owen in my lap so he could eat.

"Owen," I said suddenly, "Do you want to give your sister a tortellini?"

Owen took one of the little pastas and lifted it to Alys' lips. She accepted it and chewed it thoughtfully – as if she didn't know if she liked it or not. Then she made the noise that let me know exactly what she thought of the food, "Mmmmmmmm….."

"Is that good, Babygirl?" Bella asked with a laugh.

Alys turned to her mommy and rested a hand gently on her cheek. She does that a lot – I think because she sees me do that to Bella.

Bella tilted her face down and kissed Alys on the nose, making our youngest giggle. Owen leaned towards his mommy for a kiss of his own, and Bella complied without hesitation. As I watched that, I got lost in thought – when I was a boy, I remember wondering if I'd ever meet a woman as wonderful as my mother. How did I ever get so lucky to have run into this amazing, beautiful woman?

Bella looked into my eyes at that very moment and we both smiled serenely – I wondered if she was thinking something similar to what I was.

However, from across the table I could feel some tension coming from the wannabe interloper. He stood up suddenly, "So, Bells, you said there was a sponge cake."

"Yeah," Bella replied, not taking her eyes off of our children. "It's cooling on the counter."

"Mind if I grab it and bring it out?"

"Go right ahead."

I watched Jacob sulk back into the kitchen and then returned to see Bella giving me a quizzical look.  
"What's up? You think Jake's gonna steal something?" She joked.

"No," I replied. "Just lost in thought."

"About what?"

"Nothing in particular…"

"Edward," she said in a warning voice.

"We can talk about it later," I promised as Jacob walked back out with a serving dish with the cake on it.

Bella put her own little spin on the cake – adding an amaretto whipped cream and a ganache of strawberries in a light balsamic dressing to the cake before rolling it up. It added some of my favorites to the recipe, and I got a bit smug at the thought of one of Jacob's favorite desserts being altered for my tastes – as juvenile as that sounds.

After the food was all gone and everyone helped clean up, we said our goodbyes just as it was time to put Owen and Alys to bed. Bella and I had agreed to give the twins another hour to stay up after they turned six. I still couldn't believe they would be starting first grade in the fall – I watched them sit on the couch with Bella and was struck with the memory of when we found out she was first pregnant with the twins all those years ago.

Once we walked Aina and Keely up to their room, which would soon be the room for the new set of twins on the way, Bella and I trudged back to our own room. We were exhausted after the day's festivities. Bella kicked her shoes off and I took one of her feet in my hands and massaged it thoroughly.

She lay back and moaned softly as I worked the stiffness out of her feet. Suddenly, she sat back up again, "So, what was up with you and Jacob this afternoon?"

My plot to distract her had failed, "It was nothing, just…this weird feeling I had."

"I thought you said you weren't jealous."

"I'm not," I replied. "But, he seems to think he can weasel his way into our family."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"You don't see it, do you? The way he hangs all over the kids like he wants to be their father."

"Edward," she sighed, "I think you're reading too much into this."

"Really? How about the way he stares at us when we're all together? He still carries a torch for you, Bella."

"He does not," she said quietly, almost as if she didn't believe her own denial.

"Just answer me this – he and Leah, are they still together?"

She shook her head softly.

"Look, let's not argue about it right now," I said gently. "Let's just go to sleep, OK?"

She nodded and kissed me firmly before we shut out the lights and went to bed.


	15. Chapter 15

**BPOV**

As much as I wanted to tell Edward he was wrong, that Jake just wanted to be my friend and nothing more, I had to admit I felt something strange in Jacob.

During and immediately after the trial, he and Leah had practically joined at the hip, and it gave me hope that he was on the path towards starting a life of his own. But, from what I understood from Sue, nothing really happened between Jake and Leah.

My step mom came out to visit me and the kids for the day, and as we made lunch I asked her about what she thought might be wrong with Jake.

"Oh Bella, I'm not sure exactly what Jacob's problem is," she responded with a weak laugh. "He's always been a bit strange."

"But this is getting beyond strange, Sue," I said as I began cutting the crusts off of Owen's sandwich. "He's 26, and yet he's never really been in a serious relationship. Except for that short time we spent together, I've never heard of him having a girlfriend."

"You know what I think he needs?" Sue began, "I think he should get out of Forks. Look at what that did for you; Jake should follow your example and try to find a new life in a bigger city."

"But, what about his business?" I countered. "He makes a lot of money doing what he does in Forks, because he's pretty much the only mechanic around—there are tons of mechanics in bigger cities."

"I think he'd still survive; if nothing else, that's something Jake is very adept at doing—being self-sufficient."

I nodded softly, he did know how to take care of himself. And, if he did move to Seattle, I could start introducing him to people I know and he would be forced to become a more social creature.

I set the food on the table for the kids and turned to Sue, my hands rubbing my belly gently.

"How do I go about bringing this up with him, though?"

"You don't have to do anything, dear," she replied. "Let me and your father talk to Billy and see what he thinks."

I nodded.

"But," she continued, "If Jacob does ask you what you think of this whole situation, you'll just say you think it would be good for him to move to a bigger city."

"Yeah...yeah, I'll do that," I replied.

"Who's moving to a bigger city, Momma?" Aina asked, holding a drinking glass up for me to refill.

"No one yet, sweetie," I said as I took her cup and poured more juice into it. "We're just talking about Uncle Jake."

"Uncle Jake's moving?" Keely cried as she came running in from dining area. "Where? He can't move away, Momma, I'll miss him so much!"

"He's not moving away, sweetie. Grandma Sue and I are thinking he should move to Seattle."

"REALLY?!" Keely and Aina squealed.

"Maybe," I amended, "But until we know for sure, we have to keep quiet about it—promise?"

"We promise, Momma," they replied.

The twins walked back to finish their lunches. I turned to Sue who was giving me a confused look.

"Why do they have to be quiet about it?" She asked.

"Jake's kind of a sore subject around here," I replied.

"You mean with Edward?"

I nodded.

"Oh Bella, he can't be jealous of Jake! No one has a hold of your heart but your husband—everybody knows that!"

"Yes, he knows that," I said. "It's more about Jake himself. Edward thinks Jake is trying to, as he put it, 'weasel his way into our family.'"

"What do you think?"

"Honestly, I don't know," I admitted. "He's very close with the kids, but that doesn't mean he's trying to weasel his way in, does it?"

Sue shook her head.

"That's what I think, too," I said. "But, I don't see things from Edward's perspective, and he is a very perceptive person."

"Well, sit him down and tell him the plan," Sue said. "He's probably going to be thrilled that Jake's getting a little push towards getting a life."

"True," I replied.

We put Owen and Alys down for a nap after lunch, and Sue helped put a few decorations around the twins' room while Keely and Aina gave her explicit instructions on what they wanted the room to look like.

"Grandma," Aina said. "Can you put this above my bed?"

It was a painting of a group of ballerina's that my mother gave to me when I was a little girl. Sue hung it up with care and turned to Aina, "How's that, baby?"

"Perfect!" Aina replied, clapping her hands in delight.

"Momma," Keely said as she ran over to me, "Who's going to paint the fairies on my walls?"

"Don't worry, sweetie, Aunt Alice said she's coming by to do that this weekend."

Tonight would be the first night the twins get to spend in their new room. Edward, Emmett and Jasper had moved all of their stuff downstairs the other day, and now were beginning work on the twins' old room—making it ready for the new babies.

"Momma," Aina began as she sat in my lap, "When do the babies get here?"

"Not until December, sweetheart."

"So, they'll be like our Christmas present?" Keely asked.

Sue and I laughed.

"Yeah, something like that," I agreed.

"Good, because that's all we want for Christmas," Keely said.

"Oh really?" I asked skeptically. "No toys or anything else?"

"No," the twins replied.

"You hear that, Grandma? These kids don't want toys for Christmas," I said in mock amazement.

"I heard that," she replied as she sat down on the floor with us, "Looks like Santa has to take back all those presents he bought for you two and give them to kids who really want them."

"NO!" They both replied as Sue and I laughed hysterically.

**EPOV**

Today had been a particularly hectic day at work, so I was beyond grateful to see my family all gathered around the kitchen table when I got home. Although, it made me nervous that Bella still did so much, she was about seven months pregnant now, and she still found the time to make a big dinner after watching the kids all day.

As I sat down for dinner, I looked up at Bella at the other end of the table, "Sweetie, I think we could use some help around here."

"What do you mean? We have everything under control."

"I don't like the idea of you continuing to be so active when the twins are due in a couple months," I replied. "Plus, six children are going to be a lot to look after. Maybe we should get a nanny."

"No," she said firmly. "I don't want anyone else watching after my children, I'm their mother."

"Bella, don't be stubborn. A nanny would be a great help to us."

"What's a nanny, Daddy?" Aina asked.

"She would be a lady who comes and helps Mommy and I come take care of you."

"Does it have to be a lady?" Keely asked.

"Well...no, it just usually is a woman, sweetie."

"Why can't Uncle Jake do it?" She asked.

I tensed up at his name, but quickly relaxed with a sigh, "He has a job, sweetie. Plus, he lives in Forks; I don't think he'd want to move out to Seattle."

I noticed the girls look at Bella quizzically, but she gave them a quick shake of the head and they returned to their dinners. Something was up.

I cleared the table with the help of the twins—one of the chores bestowed upon them now that they were old enough—before walking into the living room to play a game with the family.

Once we put the children to bed, I took Bella by the hand and led her into our room.

"What's up?" I asked.

"What do you mean?" She feigned ignorance.

I sighed, "I'm not stupid, Bella, I saw that look you gave the girls when we were talking about Jacob. Something is up."

She sat on the bed and patted the place next to her, indicating I should sit.

"Sue and I were discussing him earlier," she began. "And she thinks his problem—the reason he can't seem to find a relationship—is because he never gets out of Forks or La Push. Sue and my dad are going to talk to Billy and see if he can't talk him into moving to...Seattle."

"No," I countered. "I don't want him moving here."

"Edward, there are more than two million women in the metro area," she argued. "He's bound to find one he can fall in love with."

"Or, he'll just find more excuses to be around you and the kids."

"We won't let that happen," she said. "We'll be stricter with his visits here—we'll only invite him around when there's other company."

"And when he shows up uninvited?" I countered.

"Then I'll ask him to drop by when it's more convenient for us," she replied – I gave her a dubious look, "I swear! It's tough love from here on out."

I sighed and ran my right hand down my face slowly. Bella leaned over and wrapped her arms around my waist, "This is going to be a good thing, I promise."

"OK," I said, grudgingly. "But, there's no way he's going to be the kids' nanny."

"You're right," Bella said, "Because we're not getting one."

I turned to her and took her face in my hands, "I'm agreeing to the whole Jacob thing, so you must compromise and at least talk to some potential candidates."

Her brown eyes softened and she nodded gently, "Fine."

I kissed her forehead and smiled, "See, that wasn't so hard, was it?"

**BPOV**

The more I thought about it, the more I realized Edward was right—I could use some help. I mean, I've been blessed so far with amazingly well-behaved children, but I don't think event that could get me through dealing with six kids.

I dropped the kids off at Rosalie's and then went to a local agency and talked with one of the staff about the kind of help I was looking for. I wanted someone who could come by and help the twins get to school in the morning and then help me with Owen and Alys after the new babies arrived. I also needed someone who could cook and help with light housework.

Once I had my information in the system, I was given a choice of three applicants who fit my criteria. I set up interviews with them for the next day.

I went back to my sister-in-law's house and she sat me down for a little chat while the children watched a movie.

"So, find some good prospects?" She asked over her cup of coffee.

"I think so; they are all experienced with a wide variety of kids and can cook and clean if needed."

She nodded, "Do you want a live-in nanny?"

"No," I replied, shaking my head lightly, "We still want our privacy. Plus, Edward's home every night at 5, anyway, so we've got dinner and everything else covered."

"When are the interviews?"

"Tomorrow," I said.

"Are you going to bring the kids back by here?"

"No," I replied. "I'll keep them with me during the interviews, actually. I mean, these nannies have to prove they can tolerate kids, right? Why not make them prove that up front?"

"Oooo, sneaky, Bells!" Rose laughed.

The next day, I got the kids up and ready before the first interviewee showed up at 10 a.m. Her name was Sarah, and she was an older lady – I'd say about 50 years old. She sat on the couch looking a bit uncomfortable as the twins sat on either side of me and Owen and Alys played on the floor.

She seemed nice enough when answering questions, but balked when Owen picked up one of his blocks and handed it to her – wanting her to play with him. She simply raised an eyebrow at him and shook her head slightly at his offer.

OK, strike one. Hopefully the next candidate would be a vast improvement.

Much to my surprise, it was a familiar face that showed up at my doorstep. Jessica Stanley, my fellow, former Sigma Kappa, stood there and stared at me in disbelief as I led her into my home. I couldn't believe the name didn't ring a bell before.

"Hello Jessica, it's nice to see you again," I said.

"H-h-hi," she stuttered. "How have you been, Bella?"

"Excellent," I replied, "How about you?"

"I've been better," she admitted.

We sat in the living room and she gaped at my children briefly before focusing back on my questions. She seemed very courteous and professional in her answers, though she didn't have the kind of experience I was hoping for. Once I had finished with my questions, I asked if she had any of her own.

"Um," she began, "I think you've explained everything pretty well. It's just…I was wondering…oh, nevermind."

"It's OK, Jessica, you can ask me anything."

She looked up sheepishly, "Well, how do you do it?"

"Do what?"

She looked around and gave a little laugh, "How do you raise four – almost six children, keep this house looking amazing, keep yourself looking great and keep your sanity?"

I laughed, "I've been blessed. Ever since I met Edward, each new milestone has seemed like more of a miracle than the next. If I were to ever become to stressed, or complain about anything, I think I'd seem like the most ungrateful woman in the world."

She stared at me, open-mouthed, as Keely and Aina giggled softly beside me. I shushed them both gently before turning back to Jessica, who had yet to blink. She finally stuttered back to life and we wrapped up our interview.

She left and I turned to the kids, "What did you kids think of her?"

Aina shrugged and Keely gave me a thumbs down while Owen and Alys just stared at me in bewilderment. I laughed and took out the information on the last candidate, "Well, we have one more person to see. So, let's hope this lady is the one, OK?"

"I say we call Uncle Jake," Keely state, putting her hands on her hips.

I sighed and shook my head, "Uncle Jake isn't going to give up his job to be a nanny."

"How do you know? Did you ask him?"

"Keely," I warned, "Don't start, please."

The last candidate showed up a bit later – her name was Elizabeth Smith, and she seemed like the best of the bunch. That's why I saved her for last.

I opened the door, and there stood a short, young woman with very short, strawberry-blond hair. She seemed to be a bit younger than me, which made me a little nervous. But, she had an aura of friendliness about her that put me at ease. She shook my hand as I let her inside and she introduced herself to the kids before I had a chance to.

"Hi guys! I'm Lizzie," she said as she crouched down to the twins' level, "What are your names?"

"Aina and Keely," they said in unison.

"The one in pink is Aina and the one in purple is Keely," I explained. "That's their standard uniform."

"I love both of those colors," she replied genuinely.

We went into the living room and Owen stood up and walked over to us, "This is Owen. He's about to get two little brothers, aren't you, little man?"

"Brothers!" He yelled in delight as he placed a hand on my belly.

We all sat on the couch to begin, when Alys stood up and walked over to Lizzie. She reached her arms up to Lizzie, who pulled Alys into her lap. As I interviewed Lizzie, she bounced Alys gently on her knee. I smiled inwardly, I had had a feeling about this one – and I'm glad I'm right.

After the interview, Lizzie looked around the house and sighed, "This feels like the house I grew up in. I'm the oldest of five kids, myself, and I helped bring up my little brothers and sisters with my mom – my dad was in the military, so he couldn't be around as often as he wanted to be."

I gave her a sympathetic smile as we finished our questions and comments. I led Lizzie to the door and stopped as I handed her coat to her. "This job is yours, if you'll have it, Lizzie."

"Really?" She asked excitedly.

I nodded and she threw her arms around me with a squeal, "Thank you, Mrs. Cullen! I promise I will take good care of the kids!"

"It's Bella," I said. "Could you come by tonight for dinner and meet my husband?"

"Of course, what time?"

"We eat at 5 p.m.," I said.

"I'll be here!"

**EPOV**

I walked in to find a strange feeling surging throughout the house – there was an air of excitement. I walked into the kitchen to find Bella and the twins setting the table for dinner. And, there was a woman I didn't recognize checking something in the oven.

"It's almost done!" The woman said.

"Yay!" The twins yelled as they ran to the oven and danced around the strange woman.

Bella noticed me standing in the doorway, "Edward! You're home!"

She wrapped her arms around my neck and planted a kiss on my lips as the twins ran over to me. Alys was already in her high chair and Owen jumped out of his chair at the table and waddled over to me.

"This is Lizzie," Bella said, motioning to the young woman who turned to me with a big, sweet smile. "She's the new nanny."

"Wow, you picked someone already?" I asked in delighted surprise. "That was quick."

"I had a feeling about Lizzie," she replied.

"Nice to meet you, Lizzie," I said, shaking her hand.

"The pleasure's all mine, Dr. Cullen," Lizzie said.

"Edward," I corrected happily. "And we're so grateful to have you with us."

We sat down and ate a delicious, home-made, barbeque chicken pizza that Lizzie made. I had a feeling she was going to work out just fine.


	16. Chapter 16

**I've got my tickets for the midnight showing of Twilight. All of my peeps in the north Denver or Boulder area can join me out at the Westminster Promenade tomorrow night! I'd love to see some of you there.**

** BPOV **

**Early October**

OK, I do have to confess that I had an ulterior motive in hiring Lizzie—I think she would be the perfect girl for Jacob. She is kind, funny and she really loves kids. I think Jake will be pretty smitten once he meets her.

The only obstacle is getting them together. And just when I thought that meeting would be almost impossible to choreograph in an inconspicuous way, Alice provided me with the perfect set-up—my baby shower.

It would fit into my aforementioned criteria of only inviting Jacob around when there's other company. And, of course I'll have my nanny there to share in the celebration—I mean, she will be the one to help me look after the unborn, guests of honor, why wouldn't she be there?

Although, I got more than a few eyebrow raises from Alice when I gave her the guest list for the party.

"You're inviting Jacob?" She asked with a sigh.

"Yes," I replied, deciding I should let her in on my scheme. "I have a plan—I want to introduce Jacob to Lizzie."

"And you think that's a good idea?"

"Why wouldn't it be? We're just putting them in a room together—if they don't click, no harm no foul, right?"

Alice acquiesced to that slightly—it wasn't like I was forcing a situation that didn't want to be manifested. I was simply introducing two, unattached individuals.

And I did make sure Lizzie was single. I think I freaked her out with that one, though. She and I were in the kitchen making lunch for Owen and Alys when I tried, very nonchalantly, to bring up the subject of significant others.

"So, any plans for the weekend, Lizzie?" I asked.

"I'm probably going to clean my apartment and maybe order a movie On Demand," she replied with a laugh. "I'm something of a homebody—not much for going out."

"What does your boyfriend think of that?" I continued, trying to be sneaky.

"Oh, I don't have a boyfriend," she replied awkwardly. "I've actually never really had one. I've always focused more on school or work, and I've never taken the time for a relationship."

"Well, maybe that just means the perfect guy is just waiting out there somewhere for you," I said.

"Yeah...maybe."

She went back to cutting up fruit for the kids while I began to set my wicked plans in motion.

Alice and Rosalie set the party up at our house on a Saturday. We couldn't have it anywhere else because my doctor gave me strict orders to take it easy and stay at home as much as possible. With twins due in less than two months, I couldn't risk doing anything too strenuous.

Alice pulled the big, overstuffed chair out of the corner of the room for me to sit on, and surrounded it with various other seats for the guests. Aina and Keely took me over and sat me in my chair—on Alice's orders, of course—and helped their aunts play hostess all day.

I still can't believe my little girls are 6-years-old now; and in first grade! My babies are growing up too fast.

I sat back and Keely pushed an ottoman towards me so I could put my feet up. The doorbell rang and Aina ran to answer it, "Hi Lizzie!"

"Hey there, little bug, where's your other half at?"

"In here!" Keely called from her position at my side.

Lizzie walked in wearing a pretty, knee-length dress in dark blue. How perfect! That's Jake's favorite color. She walked over and set a present on the table next to me.

"Oh Lizzie, you didn't have to get me anything!" I said as Aina crawled up in the chair with me.

"Nonsense—who comes to a baby shower and doesn't bring the mother-to-be a gift? Or, in your case, bring two gifts."

I shook my head and chuckled as she sat in a chair to my left.

"So, how are you feeling today?" She asked.

"I'm great," I replied. "I'm being waited on hand and foot."

"As it should be," Lizzie laughed. "Are these two the hostesses for today?"

Aina and Keely both nodded.

"We're making sure everything runs along smoothly," Keely replied, throwing her hair over her shoulder in a perfect imitation of her Aunt Rosalie.

"Hey! I saw that," Rose said as she entered the room.

"Lizzie," I began, "This is my sister-in-law, Rosalie."

"Hello," Rose said, shaking Lizzie's hand.

"It's nice to meet you," Lizzie replied. "You're married to Bella's brother, right?"

"Yes," Rose said.

"And I am, of course, the glorious Alice," my other sister-in-law announced as she brought a plate of snacks into the room.

"You're Edward's sister," Lizzie laughed.

"My reputation precedes me, eh?" Alice retorted smugly. "Excellent!"

"Speaking of Edward, where are the guys?" I asked.

"Firing up the old grill and doin' man things, no doubt," Rosalie said. "I mean, they have a finite amount of time to do that with winter fast just around the corner."

"Yeah, but it's still only about 50 degrees outside," I replied. "I thought we were just going to make food inside."

"We were," Alice began, "But then Jasper and Emmett brought over burgers and a couple racks of ribs—which are, incidentally, still in the oven right now; making it impossible for me to make my mini quiches!"

"Uh-oh, I hear the sound of my unhappy wife," Jasper said as he walked in from the backyard. He spotted me and grinned, "Wow, Bells, you're even bigger than you were the first time you had twins."

"Thanks, Jas, you certainly know how to compliment a lady," I replied as Alice slapped him in the back of the head.

Alice then took Jasper in the kitchen to rectify the oven situation as the doorbell rang again. Every time I heard that sound, I prayed it was Jacob at the door, so I could get what might be an awkward introduction with Lizzie over and done with. But, it was Esme and Carlisle this time.

"Oh Bella, look at you!" Esme gushed as she sat in a chair to my right, "You're positively glowing! You know, I don't think I've seen pregnancy agree with a woman as much as it does with you! It's almost like you were born to be a mother!"

"I think that's an understatement, Esme," Rose laughed.

I felt one of the twins kick and put my hand to my belly. Aina noticed my action and put her ear near where my hand lay.

"The babies are moving," she said in awe. "I can hear them."

She gave a start when one of the babies bumped the area where her voice was coming from, causing us all to chuckle.

"I think you're little brothers like your voice, baby," I told her. "Talk to them some more. You too, Keely."

The elder twins began saying hello to their soon-to-be little brothers.

"Hi babies! I'm your big sister Keely," she said. "I can't wait to meet you."

"Me too," Aina replied. "I'm so excited that I'll be big enough to hold my little brothers when they're babies this time."

"And she's been getting a lot of practice with her cousin, Jacee, haven't you, Aina?" Alice asked as she walked back into the room.

Aina looked up and smiled at her aunt. I glanced at all of my family and friends seated around me and my sights settled on my father-in-law, who gave me a cautious expression.

"You are taking it easy, right Bella?" He asked. "I mean, I know you've been through this three times before – once with twins, even – but you're not as young and strong as you were with Aina and Keely. You're body has changed quite a bit since then."

I smiled at his concern, "I promise, Carlisle, I'm being very careful. That's why I hired Lizzie, so I don't have to worry about as many things as I used to."

He nodded, satisfied with my answer. The doorbell rang again and I craned my neck up to see if I could get a glimpse of who it was. Lizzie noticed my reaction.

"Are you waiting for someone in particular, Bella?" She asked. "You've been looking at the door a lot."

I looked to Alice who shook her head and smirked at me. I tried to recover as best as I could.

"Just my Dad and Stepmom," I said. "I haven't seen them in a while."

Rosalie walked back from the door with my Dad, Sue, Jacob, Leah and her newborn daughter Emily behind them. My heart actually sped up a bit when I saw Jake there. I hoped I could give him and Lizzie a chance to get to know one another without it coming off as an obvious setup.

Dad walked over for a hug and ended up with the twins hanging around his neck, smothering him with kisses. Jake approached cautiously and I gave him a quick hug before introducing him, Leah and my parents to Lizzie.

"This is our new nanny, Lizzie," I said, motioning to the tiny girl who blushed slightly and shook everyone's hand.

"It's good you two are getting some help around here, Bells," Dad said. "Six kids are going to be quite a handful."

"Speaking of babies, how is little Emily doing, Leah?" I asked.

Leah stood up and brought her daughter, who was about a month old, over for me to see. Luckily she seemed to be inheriting all of her mother's features – particularly the dark hair and eyes, not to mention that perfect, copper-colored skin.

"She's doing great – but I'm still wondering how you can take care of all of these little ones," Leah laughed. "This one is a handful and then some."

"You'll get used to it," I replied. "Once they're a few months old, that's when the real fun begins – when they start to laugh and smile; when their features start to settle in, and you realize they're starting to look like you. That's awesome."

I noticed the whole room was smiling at me wistfully as I spoke about children. I blushed a bit as I realized I was getting carried away with my thoughts. Aina pulled herself into my lap, "You were talking about us, right Mommy? Me and Keely, we look like you, huh?"

"You sure do, baby," I replied. "And so does Alys. But, you girls all have a touch of your daddy in you, too."

"Someone say Daddy?" Edward asked as he came in from the kitchen.

"Sweetie," I said, "It's probably about time for Owen and Alys to get up from their naps now."

"I'm on it," he replied as he flew up the steps.

"Oh, I can get them, Bella," Lizzie said.

"Nonsense, you're my guest today, not my nanny," I replied as I patted her hand gently.

I turned to Jacob, who was standing just to the back of the group against the wall. I noticed the open chair next to Lizzie and got Jacob's attention.

"Jake, come sit down," I said as I waved him in Lizzie's direction. "You look like you're trying to make a break for it."

He smirked, "Maybe I am."

"I don't think so, buddy," I replied, pointing to the open seat once more, "Sit your butt down, now!"

"Fine," he sighed as he schlepped over and slung into the seat carelessly.

I smiled over at him and noticed Lizzie giving me a quizzical look. I just put on my best innocent expression and turned back to the rest of the people in the party. Edward walked down the stairs with Alys in his arms; Owen was walking just to the side of him, holding on to his pant leg.

When Alys saw me, she turned and reached out in my direction, causing Edward to bring her over and place her in my lap. She was about to snuggle close to me, when she saw her Uncle Jake sitting a few feet away. Alys jumped up and waddled over to Jake, holding her arms up to him.

"Hey, Babygirl," Jake said as he pulled her up. "How's my little Alys?"

"'Ncle Jake!" She said excitedly.

"Wow," Lizzie commented, "The kids really seem to like you."

"Yeah," I replied. "My kids love their Uncle Jake."

I smiled over at Alice who rolled her eyes at me. This could work, I thought. At least they both love kids – that's one thing they have in common.

**EPOV**

Bella is far too trusting and too open to people sometimes.

I just can't understand this incessant need she has with keeping everyone around her happy. Especially not Jacob. But, if setting him up with Lizzie is what it takes to at least get him to see there's more to life than pining after a married woman, I'm willing to go along with it.

But, I'm still keeping an eye on him.

If anyone needs to find love, however, it's poor Leah. I can't begin to imagine how difficult it's going to be for her to raise Emily on her own. I watched as Leah and Bella chatted quietly at the baby shower and was struck with the idea of somehow getting James to pay some kind of child support.

There had to be a way for the court to get a hold of James' bank account and at least provide Leah with a few hundred – if not a thousand – a week. He deserves to pay for the way he treated her.

I made the decision to talk to some of Dad's attorney friends and see what can be done about that.

As far as Jacob was concerned, he at least seemed somewhat interested in Lizzie. They chatted while they ate, and they both really love the kids. Owen climbed into Lizzie's lap and offered her a bite of his cookie, which she happily took. While this was going on, I noticed Jacob's demeanor, and could swear I saw a glimmer of something strange in his eyes – something that resembled longing.

There may be hope for him yet.


	17. Chapter 17

**EPOV **

**November**

It had originally fallen on Bella and me to host the family Thanksgiving dinner this year. But because of Bella's pregnancy, Alice decided she would take over all cooking tasks. And, of course, there was no way I could keep my mom from coming over to help.

Both showed up at our front door at 11 a.m. on Thursday morning, already armed to the teeth with supplies. I led them into the kitchen and tried my best to help in any way I could. Alice was quick to give me the easiest task she possibly could.

"Here," she said, handing me a can of cranberry sauce, "Open this, put it on a dish and set it in the fridge."

I rolled my eyes, "Thanks Al."

My mom was busy preparing a Turkey. She covered it in some kind of butter, herb rub and set it in a roasting pan, surrounded by chopped carrots, celery, onions and potatoes. I sat back and marveled at my mom's cooking skills when the twins walked into the kitchen.

"Hey, you guys are supposed to be watching your brother and sister," I said gently as I stooped to get eye-level with them.

"Mommy wants you," Keely said with a shrug.

"And it took two of you to tell me that?" I replied with a smirk.

"Yeah," they said as if it should have been so obvious to me.

I walked them out to where Bella was once again seated on the over-stuffed arm chair, her feet up on the ottoman. Right away I could tell something was not right—Alys was near Bella's feet, fresh tears running down her cheeks.

"What's wrong?" I asked, hurrying to her side.

She was surprisingly calm, "I think my water broke."

"But...we have another month," I protested as I checked out the situation.

Sure enough, there was a wet mark just underneath where Bella was sitting. I was surprised that she hadn't cried out in pain when it happened; but, I suppose when you've been pregnant three times before, labor pains aren't as severe as they once were.

"Well, let's get you up, then," I said as I lifted her off her chair and helped her towards the door. "Aina, Keely, go tell Aunt Alice we're taking your mother to the hospital."

"Yes Daddy," they said.

I had Bella to the door when Alice came streaking out of the kitchen with the twins in tow.

"What? What's wrong with her?" She demanded.

"My water broke," Bella replied calmly.

"Oh my God!" Alice replied as she turned to run back to the kitchen, "I'll let Mom know."

"Alice," I called after her, "I think you should stay here and help Mom with the kids and the food."

"Edward, we're not having dinner now," Alice countered.

"Yes we are," I replied. "The whole family is still coming over for dinner, and that's what they're getting. You can all come by and see us afterward, OK?"

Alice looked like she was about to argue when Bella clutched her stomach and leaned into me with an agonizing groan. The twins ran over and tried to comfort their mother.

"Alice...please?" I begged as she stood in the foyer with a panicked expression.

"Yes, alright," she conceded. "Just get her to the hospital."

"We want to go with Mommy!" Keely cried as she held on tight to Bella's hand.  
"You have to stay here, baby," Bella replied, kissing Keely's hand. "You help Aunt Alice and Grandma; you'll see me later, OK?"

The twins nodded obediently, "Yes, Mommy."

I hurried Bella to the car and was on my cell phone as I pulled out of the driveway and steered us towards the hospital.

"Dad? Bella went into labor," I said as my father answered his phone.

"Oh my God! I'll meet you at the hospital, is Alice or your mother with you?"

"No, and Dad, I want you to go directly to our house, OK?"

"What? Why?"

"Because I want the family to still have Thanksgiving dinner together," I said. "And then you all can come by and see Bella and the babies later."

My dad sighed, "If that's what you want, son. I'll see you later today, I guess."

"I love you, Dad."

"I love you too, Edward."

I hung up my phone and set it aside as Bella took my hand and patted it gently.

"You know, we don't have to have Thanksgiving dinner today, Edward," she said quietly. "We can hold it for tomorrow, everybody is still going to be here."

I shook my head. "This is perfect, actually. We don't need a host of people sitting around in a waiting room. Just think how boring that would be for the kids."

She nodded, "That's true enough, I guess."

"It's best to just keep everyone at the house until everything's said and done," I continued.

We pulled up to the hospital and I helped Bella through the doors and into an awaiting wheelchair. I got her checked in and followed the primary nurse to get some scrubs on before heading to Bella's room.

It took about three more hours for Bella to be dilated enough to make our way over to the delivery room. But it was worth the wait to sit behind my beautiful wife and hold both of her hands as she gave birth to our baby boys.

Bella got some much needed rest afterward as I walked to the nursery and stood in front of two bassinets. There, wrapped in blue blankets, were Donovan Charles and Rory Carlisle Cullen resting silently – their little chests the only part of them at moved as they slept peacefully.

We had our little boys; Owen would be a big brother. I chuckled to myself as I thought this birth finally brought balance to our clan—four men and four women.

**BPOV**

I woke up two hours after giving birth to the feeling of someone gently stroking my hair. I opened my eyes, and there was my Edward, gazing at me with so much love in his eyes I could feel the tears begin to well up.

"Hello my angel," he said softly. "I have two little boys here who want to say hi to their mommy."

He helped me sit up so I could hold one of the boys in my lap. The child he placed in my lap was beyond beautiful – a tiny angel with wisps of bronzed-colored hair already sticking out under his little blue cap.

"Rory," Edward cooed gently, "Say hello to your mommy."

"Rory," I whispered, "Hello my precious angel. I'm so happy to see you."

Edward turned to grab Donovan from his bassinet and sat next to me on the bed with him. I touched Donovan's head lightly. He yawned and Edward and I both giggled softly.

The nurse knocked gently before entering, "There are some people out here who'd like to see you two."

"Is everyone here?" I asked Edward.

He nodded, "Even your dad, Sue, Leah and Seth."

"Seth's here? That's awesome; I haven't seen him in forever."

"Can I send some in?" The nurse asked.

"Of course," I replied.

A few moments later, Esme, Carlisle, Sue and my dad walked in. Esme immediately rushed over with tears in her eyes.

"They are too precious," she whispered as Edward handed her Donovan.

"That's Donovan, Mom," Edward said with a proud smile.

"Hello Donovan, I'm your Grandma Esme," she said with a slight sob in her voice.

Carlisle ran his finger over Donovan's cheek lightly and smiled while Sue and Dad walked over to my side of the bed.

"And this must be Rory," Dad said. "I'm your Grandpa Charlie."

Rory opened one of his eyes and glanced at where the strange new voice was coming from. Dad and Sue immediately began waving excitedly at him, but he simply yawned and closed his eye again.

"I think he's still a little tired," I laughed.

"Aw, bein' born is hard work, huh?" Sue replied as she leaned in and kissed his head gently.

"Yep," I said.

After the grandparents left, the brother and sisters walked in with Alice, Jasper, Aiden and Jacee. The twins rushed to my side and climbed into the bed to see their little brothers.

"Which one is he, Mommy?" Keely asked.

"This is Rory," I said as I shifted over and let them get a closer look.

Alice and Jasper lifted Alys and Owen so they could look at Donovan. Owen reached over and put his hand on Donovan's head, "Brother?"

"Yes, son, this is your little brother, Donovan," Edward said.

"Donovan," Owen repeated.

"Don-o-van," Alys mimicked.

Keely moved over to sit in Edward's lap and held out her hands, "Can I hold him?"

Edward shift forward, "Carefully…put your arms in a cradle position."

"Like this?" She asked as she bent her arms so her hands were at the opposite elbows.

"That's good, now keep him close to you and in your lap," Edward continued as he set Donovan in Keely's arms.

I turned to Aina and she was giving me big, pleading eyes.

"Would you like to hold Rory?" She nodded.

I leaned forward, "OK, do it just like your sister did."

She folded her arms so I could set her little brother in her waiting embrace. She settled him into her lap and freed her left hand to run her fingers slowly over Rory's face.

"He's beautiful, Mommy."

"Yes he is," I replied. "All my children are."

She smiled up at me before leaning over gently to brush her lips across Rory's forehead. He opened his eyes again and gazed at her. But he didn't yawn this time. No, he stared at his sister in wonder.

"I think he likes you, Big Sister," I laughed as I reached forward and touched his cheek.

"His eyes aren't like ours though," she noticed, "They look blue."

"Most newborns have blue eyes, sweetie," Edward explained. "Soon, they'll probably turn either brown like your mothers', or topaz like mine."

"Why won't Donovan open his eyes?" Keely whined.

"He will eventually honey," I said. "He's just really tired right now."

Aina was gazing up at me again as I turned to her, that inquisitive look back on her angelic face.

"Mommy, what does it feel like to have a baby?"

I sat back and gazed at her for a moment, wondering how I explain this without scaring her too much.

"It hurts a little bit," I said, noticing how Alice smiled wryly at my explanation. "But, once you see your new baby in your arms – you can't really remember the pain. It just feels…indescribable, really. You kind of have to be a mother to know how it feels, sweetie."

"I can't wait to be a mommy," she replied.

"Oh yes you can," Edward remarked with mock severity. "You can wait until you're older, and married."

I nudged Edward playfully, "I don't think she meant she was going to plan for children as soon as she's able, hon."

He smirked at me as we heard a knock at the door; the nurse stuck her head in again.

"There are a couple other guests here, can I send them in?"

"Sure," I replied.

The door opened all the way to reveal Leah, Seth, Jacob and Lizzie.

"Hi," I greeted them warmly. "I'm so glad to see all of you!"

Lizzie walked over with a huge smile, "How are you feeling?"

"I'm fine," I replied wearily. "I got a nice nap a little bit ago."

"Hey little ones," Jacob said as he came to stand behind Lizzie.

He put a hand on her shoulder and looked over the top of her head – a good foot-and-a-half shorter than him – and smiled at the twins. I turned to Edward slightly and gave him a secretive smile. I could see the corner of his mouth turn up at me in reply.

Rory had drifted back off to sleep by this time. It was now Donovan's turn to open his tiny eyes and take in his whole family gathered around him. Keely looked up at Edward and me with a huge grin on her face.

"He's awake!" She said excitedly.

"Hello Donovan," Edward whispered to the younger twin, "Ready to meet your family?"

Donovan looked at his father with curiosity written across his face – almost as though he recognized Edward's voice. I moved closer to my husband and placed my face close to his and in Donovan's view, "Hello there, my precious little boy. Were you the one kicking me all that time? Or was it your brother?"

Everyone chuckled softly as I reached out to Donovan. He had one hand free of his blanket and I placed my index finger in his tiny palm. He clenched it tightly for a moment before yawning just like his brother and closing his eyes again.

"They're perfect, Bells," Jacob said quietly as his hand moved from Lizzie's shoulder to rest on her hip.

She unconsciously moved back to lean against him and I felt my heartbeat increase at the exchange happening between them. After their initial meeting, I had found ways to keep throwing them into situations together – like helping Jacob move to Seattle.

Edward, Emmett, Jasper and all of Jake's friends help him get his stuff out to his new place, which I helped him find. In fact, I found an apartment just three blocks from where Lizzie lived – and I managed to be inconspicuous about it. Lizzie and I then planned a welcoming party for Jake, and the two of them ended up chatting quietly in a corner for the majority of the night.

I wasn't sure what was transpiring between them on their own time, but it appeared they were really getting to know each other.

I smiled as I leaned into Edward. I felt his lips on my ear, "You can pat yourself on the back later, Angel."


	18. Chapter 18

**BPOV**

I am fully convinced this will be the best Christmas ever. We have our new twins together with our four other angels, and everybody will be coming over to our house to celebrate this year. Of course, it wasn't as if any of my family was going to try to make Edward and me travel anywhere with six kids – two of which are one month old.

And, thanks to Edward's unbelievable holiday bonus, we were able to get the kids everything they asked for and then some. Not that our kids ever really want for anything.

On the morning of Christmas Eve, the twins and Alys helped me make cookies and a host of other treats while the boys sat in the living room putting ornaments on the tree. Alice and Jasper were staying over tonight, so I had planned to make some quick, easy finger foods for all of us tonight, in lieu of dinner.

"Mommy, are we going to make peanut brittle this year?" Aina asked.

"If you want to, baby," I replied. "But first, we've got to get some of these cookies done before your cousins get here."

"Are Uncle Jake and Lizzie coming over today?" Keely asked as she spread some frosting onto a sugar cookie.

I smiled at the names – Jacob and Lizzie have recently moved from dating to being an official couple over the past couple of weeks. Though, it made the kids a little sad that their Uncle Jake spent most of his time either at work or with his new girlfriend. But, I explained to them that it was what made Jacob happy, and we should all want him to be very, very happy, indeed.

"I think Uncle Jake and Lizzie are spending Christmas with their families," I said. "Jake and Billy are going with Lizzie to meet her parents and brothers and sisters."

"But, we're their family too, right?" Keely asked.

"In a way," I said. "But, we're not blood related. And I think Lizzie's been missing her family."

The doorbell rang and the twins raced each other to answer it. I followed Alys out to the living room where our guests were filing in to crowd around the two bassinets near the couch. Donovan and Rory had been napping, but now they opened their tiny eyes to take in the new presence in the house.

"Look Aiden," Jasper said as he held his son up to see the babies, "Those are your two new cousins."

Alice walked over to give me a hug, "They're so beautiful…they have your eyes."

"I know…but I was kind of hoping they'd both get Edward's eyes," I replied.

"Why?" She asked. "They look like Edward in every other way, so they should at least have some piece of you."

"I guess," I sighed.

Donovan began to squirm and whimper – my sign that he needed to be fed. Edward turned to him and lifted him out of the bassinet while I found the feeding pillow and sat on the couch.

The twins have become strangely fascinated with the process of breast feeding. They like to sit around me while I feed their little brothers and ask questions like "what does that feel like?" Or "how does the milk get in there?"

Far be it for me to squash their curiosity. After our initial conversation with the girls about where babies come from, Edward and I have become rather good at tackling these uncomfortable questions.

Once Donovan had had his fill, Rory began crying softly to be fed. The twins have somehow managed to work their hunger burst into shifts. Once one has been fed, the other one becomes hungry – like they're sending some kind of signal to each other.

I took Rory on my right side this time as Edward placed Donovan back in his bassinet, and he promptly fell asleep. He really is a Cullen man, once his belly is full, he's down for the count.

Jasper came back in the room once I was done feeding. He was still a little red in the face and I had to chuckle at him, "Oh Jaz! You weren't really THAT embarrassed by my breastfeeding, were you?"

He glared at me, "Hey, I'm glad you ladies are taking good care of our children, but it doesn't mean I want to have any visual of my sister-in-law's breasts lingering in my head."

"JAZ!" Alice scolded as the twins snickered at their uncle.

"Aw, it's OK, Jazzy," I continued as I hugged Jasper. "You know I only pick on the people I love."

He smirked at me as Alice set Jacee in a bassinet Jasper had set up near the twins. Then the girls went back to finish making cookies. We started popping some frozen empanadas in the oven around 5 p.m., and that's when I heard a knock on the back door.

I opened the door to find Jacob standing there with a forlorn look on his face.

"What's wrong, Jake? I thought you were supposed to be at Lizzie's parents' house."

"I can't do this, Bells," he replied.

"Can't do what?"

He sighed and walked past me into the laundry room, "I think Lizzie is expecting me to propose to her soon. She's been dropping all of these hints."

"Is that such a bad thing?" I asked. "You love her, don't you?"

"…I'm not sure."

"Jake," I hissed. "I thought you two were doing so well together. What's different now?"

"I really like her – a lot. But, I don't know if I'm ready to get married."

"I don't understand, Jacob," I began, leaning up against the washing machine. "You always seem like you want to settle down and you want to have kids – and now you're telling me you're not ready for any of that?"

He shook his head slightly. The utility door opened and Edward appeared before us.

"Hey, what's going on?" He asked, giving Jacob a suspicious look.

"Nothing," I replied. "Jake just needed someone to talk to."

"Huh," Edward said, his eyes narrowing even more as he glared at Jacob. "Why isn't Jake over at Lizzie's?"

"Am I no longer welcome here, Edward?" Jacob asked.

"Not when you haven't been invited," Edward replied. "I thought we were clear on that point – you can't just drop by anytime you feel like it."

"Edward," I hissed. "He just needed to talk to me, it was kind of important."

Edward laughed mirthlessly, "He has other friends he could have run to – he came by here to get sympathy from the girl he just can't seem to get over."

"Please Edward, not now," I whined as I stood in front of him and tried to gently push him out of the room. "Just, let me talk to Jake for a second, and then he's gone, I swear."

"No," Edward replied, stepping around me to confront our unwanted guest. "He's leaving right now…and I never want him coming around here again. Do you hear me, Jacob Black? I've been patient with you for too long. I never want to see you near my family. And if you drop by here ever again, I will be forced to go to the police."

"Edwa…"

"No," he cut me off. "This ends right now. Goodbye Jacob."

Jacob looked towards me briefly before turning without another word and walking out of my life forever. I had to admit, it hurt more than it should have. I know I don't have feelings for Jacob anymore, but I've known him for most of my life, and I wasn't exactly sure I wanted to cut all ties with him.

Edward broke me out of my thoughts with a gentle hug, "This is for the best, Angel. He's never going to move on if you coddle him like you do. He just has to be cut loose."

I nodded into his shoulder. He was right – he's always right, especially concerning Jacob. I know the reason he was feeling unsure about marrying Lizzie is because she's not the girl he always pictures in his mind – me.

Edward pulled away from me and looked into my eyes, "Let's get back to the kids, OK?"

I nodded and followed him back inside. Aina ran over to me with a sugar cookie in the shape of a Christmas tree.

"Look Mommy, I made you a cookie! See how pretty it is?"

It had green icing with red, pink and purple ornaments and was covered in sprinkles.

"Thank you, baby. It's the most beautiful cookie ever," I replied.

"Hey, what about my cookies?" Keely whined.

I sat at the kitchen table in between my twin girls and wrapped an arm around Keely's shoulders, "All my children make beautiful cookies."

Alice brought the finished empanadas into the dining area and set them near where she had already set out salsa and sour cream to top off the little treats. I stood back up, "Time to put in the simosas, right?"

Alice giggled, "We're being very multi-ethnic today, aren't we?"

"I thought it would be quite festive," I replied.

I popped the simosas in the oven and went back to sit with my girls. Alys sat in her highchair with some green and red frosting on her face and hands.

"Is the baby girl liking her Christmas cookies?" I asked.

Alys gave me a big grin before reaching for the last piece of cookie that sat on the tray of her chair.

Once dinner was ready, we dug in and gathered in the living room to watch a movie. We sat around talking, laughing and eating until, one by one, the kids began to doze off. By the time Edward and I were walking the twins down to their room, it was almost midnight.

"We're never gonna get to sleep, Mommy," Keely whined.

"Yeah, can we come sleep with you two, Daddy – please?" Aina asked, giving Edward the puppy dog eyes I'm sure she learned from me.

"Well, if you two can't sleep, then why would you want to keep me and your mother up all night?" He asked. "We want to be good and get to sleep before Santa arrives."

"We promise to sleep if you let us sleep with you," Keely said as she pulled on my arm to emphasize her point.

"Sorry, you two," I said. "You've got to be big girls and sleep in your own room."

"Aw man!" They whined.

**EPOV**

I woke up at four in the morning to set the presents under our tree. Bella still insists that we have the kids believe there is a Santa Claus, so that means no presents out before Christmas morning.

My parents came by around eight – just a few minutes before Charlie and Sue drove in. Bella had coffee and cinnamon rolls ready for everyone before we began opening presents.

However, my confrontation with Jacob was still bothering me. And, my dad could sense my unease. He took me aside and sat me down in the kitchen.

"What's wrong, Son?"

"I think I may have another difficult situation to handle," I said.

"With whom?"

"Jacob – he came by yesterday and told Bella he wasn't ready to settle down with Lizzie. But, it was pretty obvious what he was trying to do – he was trying to show Bella that he can't be happy with any girl but her."

"And what did you say to him?"

"That he was no longer welcome in our home."

Dad sighed, "Well, at least you two tried to get him to realize his obsession. Are you afraid he may come back?"

I nodded, "I mean, I told him not to…but that doesn't mean he won't."

"Do you think you may have another James situation on your hands?"

"No, Jacob's not a psycho, even if he is delusional," I said. "He definitely would never threaten my children. That much I know."

Dad took a sip of coffee and thought for a moment, "Well, what does Bella think about all of this?"

"She understands the situation – she knows what Jacob's trying to do. I know it hurts her to push him out of her life, but she'll do anything for our family."

He nodded, "If you need anything, you let me know, OK?"

"Of course," I replied.

We walked back in to open up presents. Bella sat in the big arm chair with Alys in her lap and gave me a concerned look. I smiled weakly to let her know we'd talk later. Both grandmas's had a baby in their lap and an older twin at their side – always watching over their little brothers.

It was insane, the amount of baby accessories my family bought for us. Nevermind the truckload of clothes supplied by Auntie Alice; my parents bought us every possible bit of baby furniture they could get their greedy little hands on. Even things we already owned.

"Mom, Dad, you know we already have a changing table, right?" I asked.

"Yes, but you got it back when Aina and Keely were born," Mom said. "It's time for a new one with a new set of twins."

I guess she had us there. Besides, it was Charlie who brought out the big guns – a pair of corgi puppies that sent the kids into a frenzy.

"Puppies! Oh my God! Thank you, Grandpa!" Keely and Aina screamed as the little balls of fur scampered about their feet.

"Those people out near Ozette still breed corgis," Charlie explained. "I got two for you guys and one for Leah."

"Oh, where is Leah today?" I asked Sue.

"Well, Seth couldn't make it home for the holiday, so she and Emily flew out to see him," Sue said. "I'm going to head out before New Years."

Aina held up one of the pups and brought it to show me, "Look Daddy, isn't he cute?"

"He is indeed," I replied. "You know your mom used to have one just like him."

"Really?" Keely asked as she held the other puppy.  
"That's right," Bella said. "I used to have a little guy named Basher."

"Let's name one of these puppies Basher," Aina suggested.

"Well, that one looks the most like him," Bella said, pointing to the pup in Aina's hands.

"Do you like that name?" Aina asked the puppy, who replied by licking her face wildly.

"I think he does, sweetie," Mom laughed.

"What about this one?" Keely asked. "What should we name him?"

"Whatever you want, baby," Bella said. "What do you think would be a good name?"

"Ummm…how about…Mac?" Keely said.

"That's a cute name, Keely," Alice replied.

The older kids put on their warm clothes and headed out to the backyard to play with the puppies while Bella and Alice fed the babies in front of a nice, warm fire in the living room. Despite this nagging feeling I had that we hadn't seen the last of Jacob, I felt so very happy and content.

"You seem to feel much better than you did earlier," Dad said as he sat near me on the couch.

"It's amazing what some good family time can do, isn't it?" I asked as I sipped some coffee.

"Indeed," Dad replied. "Makes an old man feel a little misty, too. I remember when that little baby in his mother's arms was you."

I smirked and turned to him, "Carlisle Cullen, you big softy."

"He, it's OK to get sentimental in your old age," he replied. "Just wait for those big moments – the kids' graduations, their weddings, when they start to have kids. You're going to watch it all with a tear in your eye. And I'll be watching from…well, some other place."

"Not for a long time, though," I said.

He got suddenly quiet and stared at the lukewarm coffee in his cup. I stared at him incredulously.

"Dad…what is it?"

"Not now, son," he replied. "I'll tell you later."

"No," I hissed quietly so I wouldn't alarm Bella or Alice. "You can't do that to me."

I stood and motioned for him to follow me to the study. He sighed and walked into the little room after me. Once I closed the door, we sat down and I began my interrogation.

"What's going on? Is there something wrong with you?"

He put his head in his hands, "I went in for my yearly physical last week, and the doctor said I had an enlarged prostate. So, he ran some tests and found that I have prostate cancer."

It felt like someone hit me in the stomach, I couldn't even speak. Why did things like this only ever happen to good people? I felt the tears begin to sting at the corners of my eyes and Dad sighed and shook his head.

"See, this is why I didn't want to tell you today," he said.

"It's not like it would have hurt any less if today wasn't Christmas," I said. "Have you started Chemo therapy yet?"

He shook his head, "Next month. They'll try to shrink it down and then they're hoping to operate soon after. Luckily, they did catch this in its early stages – they said I've got a sixty percent chance to live."

Sixty percent? Such a little number to carry such incredible significance.

"Does Mom know?"

"No, and please don't tell her," he said. "I'm trying to figure out a way to break it to her gently."

I sat back and crossed my arms over my chest. It became harder and harder to hold back the tears, but somehow I kept it together.

We walked back out as the kids came in from the outside for some of Mom's homemade hot cocoa. I had a cup, but it didn't make me feel any better at all. I wasn't sure if I was going to tell Bella or not.

She could already sense I wasn't myself right now, it was only a matter of time before she asked what was wrong. We got to bed around midnight again, and, as if on cue, she turned to me as she got into her nightgown.

"What was bothering you today? Ever since you and your Dad went into your study, you've seemed a little down in the mouth."

"You saw that, huh?" I asked, trying to keep things light. "It was nothing, just some guy talk."

That seemed to set off her worrying radar, "What is it, Edward? Is something wrong with Carlisle?"

I never give her enough credit for being exceptionally perceptive. I turned to her and she finally saw the pain in my eyes. She gasped and sat next to me, throwing her arms around my neck.

"How bad is it?"

"Pretty bad," I whispered. "He has prostate cancer. But, he said they've caught it early and he'll start Chemo therapy next month."

She whimpered slightly before burying her face in my neck for a good cry. I held her close and rubbed her back gently.

"Shhhh, it's going to be OK, Angel," I said. "Dad's strong – he's going to beat this."

I think I was trying to convince myself of that as much as I was trying to convince her. We were both so exhausted we fell asleep as soon as we hit our pillows. And, unfortunately, I couldn't fight the horrible images that plagued my sleep, though. Pictures of Dad looking sick and frail; of Mom, Alice and Bella crying, dressed in black in the rain – at Dad's funeral.

I woke up in a cold sweat. I made the decision then to do everything in my power to help my father – starting with getting him the best doctors in the nation.

I would make a few calls in the New Year – I had some favors to call in.


	19. Chapter 19

**Happy New Year, one and all! Sorry it's taken me so long to get this out, I've been a bit busy – what, with the holidays and such – but, I wanted you all to know the next chapter (after this one you're reading, so chapter 20) will be the last of this story.**

**Sorry, I just can't seem to get much more out of this one. Fear not, though, for I have a few things in the hole at the moment – not the least of which is my Alice/Jasper story "The life before her eyes." Now, I know some of you don't like A/J stories, but I implore you to read this one! It's going to go in some interesting directions, and could be my best story yet!**

**Also, I will eventually get to my sequel to "Ghosts of the past," I promise, but I'm trying to step back from that for a moment to focus on a couple other ideas. One of those ideas is a story where Bella is a novelist who writes very beautiful, very steamy romances, but is actually a virgin in real life and not good at relationships. Thoughts?**

**Let me know what you think, and, as always, thank you so much for reading my stories! You all truly make my day :-)**

**EPOV **

**Early January**

As soon as I got back into the office after the holidays, I was on the phone trying to get a hold of Dr. Baker; a man I knew was the foremost clinician for cancer research in Washington.

My father had tried to assure me that his friend, Dr. Thompson, was perfectly capable of handling the situation – but, I wasn't about to take any chances. I had a friend named Dr. Steve Meyers who worked with Baker; I was bound and determined to get Steve to help me out. It helped that I used to let him look at my notes all through medical school. Steve definitely owes me a huge favor.

I finally got through to Dr. Baker after lunch on Tuesday. I was about to meet with a patient when he called and asked me to bring Dad in on Friday afternoon. Apparently, my father's reputation preceded him in many ways – Dr. Baker was very adamant about helping one of Seattle's most beloved doctors beat prostate cancer.

"My cousins have been going to see Dr. Cullen for years," he told me with immense reverence. "It would be an honor to see him."

As soon as I finished with my patient I called up my father.

"Dad! I've got you an appointment with Michael Baker on Friday!" I practically screamed into the phone.

"Edward," he began, "You know I already have a doctor."

"Dad, I'm not arguing with you on this," I countered. "You're going to see him. If I can get the top clinician in the state to see my father, then that's what's going to happen. So, be ready by 2 p.m. on Friday."

Dad sighed, "Alright, I'll see Dr. Baker. But, I want Dr. Thompson to be kept abreast of everything that's going on, OK?"

"Sure," I conceded. "See you Friday."

I moved my appointments around so I could be with Dad when he saw Dr. Baker. I was not surprised to find my mother was there, too – fretting over my father as she does so well.

"Are you sure you're feeling OK, Carlisle?" She asked as I walked into the waiting room. "You barely touched your lunch today."

"Dear, I'm going through chemo therapy," he said gently as he took her hands into his. "My appetite just isn't what it used to be."

I greeted my parents and sat down next to Mom, who turned her worry-wart ways on me the second I hit the seat.

"You're looking too thin these days, what are you doing? I know Bella feeds you," she accused as she brushed my hair out of my face. "And you need a haircut."

The nurse came and called us back to the examination room before Mom had any more opportunities to kvetch over me. We sat in the room while Dr. Baker discussed my dad's condition. Dad had his first round of chemo last week. Dr. Baker's face told me there would be nothing to worry about.

"I think, with the chemo therapy treatments, this tumor should shrink very quickly," Dr. Baker said. "And, since it hasn't spread to the lymph nodes, I should be able to operate in about two months."

"That soon?" Mom asked excitedly.

"I think we're well on our way," he replied. "But, I won't know for sure until I get a better sense of how the chemo is working. So, I'll see you again next month, Carlisle."

Dad stood up and shook hands with Dr. Baker, and I did the same. I left feeling as though the weight of the world had been lifted off my shoulders. And, I was pretty sure Mom and Dad felt the same.

I went right back to work after the appointment and became increasingly anxious to get home. As soon as the clock hit five, I was running for the parking lot. I got home to find Bella and Lizzie making dinner. The older twins were playing one of those LeapFrog video games they got for Christmas, Owen and Alys were sitting at the table coloring while the little twins perched just inches away in their bouncing chairs.

I stood back and watched my family interact with each other. Owen showed Alys how to draw a little heart with her pink marker…Bella approached Donovan and Rory to play a game of peek-a-boo, using a dishtowel to cover her face…and, I could hear Aina and Keely's squeals of delight as they played their game.

My happiness from earlier was only amplified as I watched this beautiful scene before me. As I felt a tear run down my right cheek, Bella noticed me standing there and rushed over.

"What did the doctor say?" She asked as she kissed me hello.

"Just like we thought – Dad's going to be fine."

"Really?" She asked excitedly.

"He's going to have to go through a bit of chemo, but, Dr. Baker said he should be able to remove the tumor in a couple of months."

Owen noticed me then, and ran over so I could lift him up and swing him around in the air. We sat down to the delicious chicken parmesan Lizzie had made while my two oldest regaled me with how their day went.

Lizzie stuck around to help me get all the kids to bed – I ordered Bella to go upstairs earlier and get off her feet. Just because she's not pregnant anymore doesn't mean she has to be running around all day, making herself exhausted. I walked Lizzie to her car and said goodnight before running back to the house. I flew up the stairs and rushed into the bedroom. I half expected Bella to be asleep when I got there, or at the very least too fatigued to do more than just cuddle all night.

Boy was I wrong.

**BPOV**

I wasn't about to fight Edward on being sent to bed early. I was just so happy Carlisle was going to be alright – and I was ecstatic to see Edward looking so happy. In fact, I was going to concoct a way to make him even happier.

As soon as I closed the bedroom door behind me, I ran to my closet and started rifling through my lingerie drawer. I could have sworn there was a little negligee Alice gave me that I'd yet to wear for Edward. I found the red, strappy babydoll nightgown – more an idea than an actual piece of functional clothing – and threw it on. I went past the bathroom mirror and fixed my hair a bit and threw on a touch of makeup, just to make my skin glow. Lastly, I grabbed a pair of red heels and put them on before getting into position.

I could hear Edward walking Lizzie out to her car, he insists on doing that every night, as if some maniac could possibly be roaming the streets of our safe, benign neighborhood. But, that was just like my sweet Edward to be so chivalrous.

I lay back against the pillows of our king-sized bed as I waited for Edward to come upstairs. Suddenly, I could hear footsteps rushing up the staircase like the person were running for his life. At first, it made me a little nervous. Then, as Edward burst through our bedroom door, almost out of breath, I knew it was just my husband in a rush to be with me.

"A little anxious, lover?" I asked with a salacious smirk.

"You have no idea," he replied.

His eyes roamed my body hungrily as I writhed seductively for him. It didn't take him long to close the distance between us and start attacking my lips and every inch of my skin. He took a hold of the hem of my nightgown and began lifting it over my head.

"As much as I'm loving this little, red number," he said. "I'm afraid you're overdressed Mrs. Cullen."

"As are you, Mr. Cullen," I countered as I reached over and tugged his shirt open, sending buttons flying everywhere.

More clothing became torn during the removal process as we both seemed to be in a mad dash to get through the foreplay. Because if all he wanted to do was get down to business, I wasn't about to try and make him slow down in any way. I wanted this just as badly as he did.

We had somehow managed to get under the sheets before he entered me briskly. There was no need for any kind of protection anymore, Edward had decided to get a vasectomy a couple weeks after Donovan and Rory were born. And, I must say, it hasn't affected his game at all. In fact, the sex had become better than ever.

And, tonight was no exception.

Our first round was over with a bit too quickly, though. Edward and I went at it like rabbits; he dug his fingers into the flesh of my hips and thrust into me over and over until I reached the pinnacle of pleasure. I bit into his shoulder to muffle my scream and kept my mouth there for a moment afterwards, just nibbling and suckling at his soft, smooth skin.

"Trying to give me a hickey?" He asked.

I nodded as I pulled away from him, "Just like when we were in college."

He chuckled as he rolled us over. I took that as a sign he wanted me to be on top for our second round of lovemaking. He gazed up at me with hooded eyes and sighed.

"How is it that you keep getting more beautiful all the time?" He asked.

I ran my fingernails up and down his chest, "Maybe your eyesight is just getting worse and worse."

"Oh no, my angel, my vision is still 20/20. How else would I know you're the most exquisite creature ever to fall to earth?"

I could feel his excitement growing once more, just behind me. I lifted myself up just enough to position him at my entrance and slowly lower myself onto him. He grasped my hips again, but I placed my hands on his, "Nuh-uh, Mr. Cullen. I'm in control this time."

I guess one could have described my actions as moving at a snail's pace – but, it was the most delightful torture ever. And, unfortunately, it wasn't until I felt something brush against my hand that I realized I should have sped things up. That soft touch I felt didn't come from my husband – it came from Aina.

"Mommy, I don't feel good," she whined as I quickly removed myself from Edward's lap and reached for my robe.

"What's wrong, baby?" I asked as I rushed over and felt her forehead – it was on fire. "Oh Edward, she's burning up! Get the thermometer."

Before I even finished my request, Edward was out the door and downstairs to fetch the ear thermometer. He came back into the bedroom and placed the tip gently in Aina's ear as I held her close on the bed. When the thermometer beeped, he checked the temperature.

"One-hundred point two; it's not too bad, we'll give her some of that children's Motrin and get her into a warm bath – that should calm her down," he brushed her hair back and kissed her forehead gently. "Don't worry little angel, you'll be better in the morning."

Edward went back downstairs to get the medicine while I started running a bath. I put some of the calming lavender-scented bubbles I use on the babies into the water – it should help her sleep. Edward returned and got her to swallow most of the Motrin; just like me, she's not a fan of taking medicine.

I helped Aina into the bath and rubbed her back with a washcloth while Edward checked on the other kids. Keely slept through her sister's ordeal, but Aina's moaning combined with Edward's constant trips up and down the stairs had woken up the little twins. I could hear Edward trying to sooth them over the baby monitors.

Once I got Aina out of the bath and dried off, I wrapped her in a blanket and began to take her downstairs until she protested.

"Can I sleep with you and Daddy, please?"

I hesitated for a moment, but I couldn't deny her that one request. I set her on our bed and gave her one of my old t-shirts to wear. She snuggled up close to me as we both drifted off to sleep.

**EPOV**

After I got my boys back to sleep, I tiptoed back to my bedroom to find Bella and Aina fast asleep. I leaned against the doorframe and watched them for a moment before switching the light off and crawling slowly into bed with them. I put my arms around two of my angels and fell asleep with a big smile on my face.


	20. Chapter 20

**OK, last chapter…sorry, but I promise another awesome story very soon!**

**BPOV**

Just as Edward has predicted, Carlisle was ready to have his tumor removed just two months after starting chemo. We rearranged our schedules to be at the hospital the day of the surgery, and Lizzie even came along to help keep an eye on the kids – except Aina and Keely, who were at school.

It's been difficult explaining this whole ordeal to them. As soon as the questions started, Edward and I sat the twins down and had the discussion.

"Momma, why is Grandpa losing his hair?" Keely asked one day after Carlisle and Esme had left.

It had been a month after the chemo sessions began, and we were all starting to notice Carlisle was losing his beautiful, slightly graying, blond hair. After Edward and I put the younger children to bed, we sat on the couch with the twins and broke the news gently.

"Your Grandpa Carlisle is very sick," Edward said. "And, the treatment they're giving him causes his hair to fall out."

"What's wrong with him?" Aina asked on the verge of tears.

"He has cancer," Edward replied quietly.

"NO!" Aina screamed as she buried her face in my shoulder. Her tears soaked through the shirt I was wearing as I stroked her hair soothingly, "Shhhh, it's OK, baby. Your grandpa is going to be fine."

"That's right, girls, his treatments are working and they're going to be able to operate on him soon," Edward explained. "And, after that, he should be much, much better."

"Are you going to be operating on him, Daddy?" Keely asked.

"No, sweetie, I'm not a surgeon," he said. "But, the best surgeon in all of Washington is going to do it, and he's going to do the best job possible."

"But, you're the best doctor in the world, Daddy," Keely countered.

"That's true sweetie," I said, shooting Edward a smirk. "But, he doesn't do surgeries. Don't worry; Grandpa is going to be fine."

We reassured the girls – and ourselves – a few more times before sending them to bed.

A part of me wished they could have been here today, but I told them Lizzie would pick them up from school and bring them here directly. Carlisle should be out of surgery by that time, and I'm sure he'll be asking where his twin terrors are.

Nurses from the post-natal wing kept coming over to see Rory and Donovan throughout the day. They're just four months old, and they are already more than capable of wrapping any woman around their tiny fingers. They're miniaturized Edwards. In fact, once I had pumped out some breast milk and stored it in a fridge in the post-natal wing, two of the nurses volunteered for feeding time.

Lizzie sat with Alys on her lap and a smirk on her lips. "Guess you don't need me here."

"Of course I do, sweetie," I said as Owen and I sat on the floor and colored.

Just as Lizzie went to pull some goldfish crackers out of the diaper bag, her phone started beeping. I recognized that as her text alert. She checked the message and immediately snapped her phone shut in disgust.

"Someone you don't want to talk to?" I guessed as I turned to her.

"You have no idea," she began, "For some reason, Jacob decided to just start texting me again."

"Really? When did that start up again?"

"Just before New Years," she said. "He asked me to a party out in La Push, but I was already going to The Saint with some friends. So, I figured that would be it; and then he showed up at the bar."

"Yep, that sounds like Jake," I said.

"Yeah, he shows up and starts acting all lovey-dovey with me and buying me drinks," she said, "Even though, he was the one who showed at my parents' house before Christmas and broke up with me."

"So, what did you do?"

"What could I do?" She asked, "It's not like I could slap him and tell him to leave me alone in the middle of the crowded bar. So, I just avoided him all night."

"And now he won't leave you alone?"

"Yeah, I mean, I have to admit a part of me is thrilled I have reduced him to a groveling wimp," she said. "But, it's also too pathetic – and, I don't want to date anyone who's pathetic."

"Well, have you told him that?" I asked.

"Not really, I just keep avoiding him every time he tries to call or text," she said.

"This could be your problem," I replied. "I think you just need to sit down and talk to him. He needs tough-love, Lizzie, he doesn't take subtle hints."

"I'm just afraid if I meet with him, he's going to use that puppy-dog face on me," she said. "He's really good at that – it turns me to mush."

"You want me to come with you for moral support?" I asked.

"Would you? That'd be so great," she said excitedly.

"Sure…just let me know when."

Edward walked back in from talking to one of his doctor friends and looked around in confusion, "Where are the twins?"

Just as he asked that, the two nurses who volunteered to feed them walked in, oooing and awing over them. The nurses were young, probably in their late-20s or early-30s, and they looked like the type who were still searching for the right guy to settle down with – kind of like Lizzie.

The brunette nurse walked over and handed me Rory. The blond one, however, walked up to Edward with a flirtatious look on her face.

"Are you the daddy of this little guy?" She asked in a sickeningly sweet voice.

"Yes I am," he said simply. He didn't even seem to notice the girl, he just took Donovan into his arms and kissed him gently on the nose. After a moment, the nurse walked away in a huff.

I shook my head and chuckled as the brunette nurse, named Jordan, gave me a shocked expression.

"Wow, no one ever ignores Carrie," she said. "He must really love you."

"Hey, he knows what's good for him," I replied. "And he knows if he ever looked at another woman, I'd cut his balls off."

Jordan laughed in disbelief as Lizzie stood up and put Alys on her hip, "Oh yeah, that man is whipped good."

Edward finally joined the conversation as we all finished cracking up.

"What's so funny?" He asked as he leaned in for a kiss.

"Men," I replied as I planted a soft kiss on his lips.

"Anything in particular, or just men in general?"

"In general," Lizzie said.

"Having men troubles, Liz?" He asked.

Lizzie and I looked at each other and started laughing again. Edward just shrugged and sat down with Donovan in his lap. Owen jumped up into the chair next to his daddy and stared at his baby brother in awe.

"Hi Donovan," Owen said as he stroked his brother's head gently.

Esme and Alice, who had been out getting coffee at Starbucks to take her mind off of Carlisle's surgery, walked in with Aiden, Jacee and a drink holder full of coffees.

"Here we go, coffee for everybody!" Esme announced as she set the cardboard drink holder on the waiting room table.

"Granny!" Alys called as she held her hands out to Esme. My mother-in-law took Alys into her arms and sat on the nearest chair to play with her. We all sat around talking and sipping our coffees for the next hour, and then Dr. Baker walked out in his scrubs. He was smiling.

"Hello folks," he said.

Edward stood up and walked over to him, "How did it go?"

"Everything went exactly as we expected, the tumor was completely removed – it hadn't spread to any other organs – and he's in recovery as we speak."

"When can I see my husband?" Esme asked as she stood with Alys still in her arms.

"Soon," Dr. Baker said. "He needs to rest a little bit, but you can go in and see him in about an hour or so."

"That's perfect timing then," Lizzie said as she grabbed her purse, "Because I have to go pick up Aina and Keely."

"Wow, is it almost three already?" I asked.

"Good, Carlisle will want the whole family around him when he wakes up," Esme said.

Lizzie was back about twenty minutes later with the older twins, and they ran to me and Edward eagerly.

"Where's Grandpa?" They both asked in unison.

"He's in a room waiting to see us," Edward said. "We can see him in a little bit, but he's still kind of tired right now."

Aina and Keely sat down at a waiting room table and started their homework until a nurse came back and told us we could see Carlisle. Esme, Alice and Edward went first while I sat with the kids and Lizzie, waiting for our turn. Jasper showed up then, he wasn't able to get off of work for today.

"Is Carlisle out?" He asked me as he lifted Jacee into his arms.

"Yeah," I said. "Edward, Esme and Alice are in there right now."

Once they came back out, Edward took Donovan back from Lizzie and we all walked back to Carlisle's room. It was so strange to walk in and see my strong, confident father-in-law lying there, looking weak and tired. He smiled at me as our eyes met and I returned it as best I could. Aina and Keely ran to their grandfather and jumped into the seat next to him.

"There are the terrors," he said. "How was school?"

"Fine," they both replied.

"How do you feel, Grandpa?" Keely asked.

"I feel super, Babygirl," he said. He reached up towards me and motioned for me to hand him Rory.

"Are you sure?" I asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine," he said. "I can handle it."

I set Rory in his arms and he held the baby close to his chest. Rory instinctively snuggled into his grandpa's shoulder and stuck his thumb in his mouth. It only took him a moment before he was sleeping serenely.

"Now that's a Cullen, right there," Carlisle said. "We can sleep anywhere, can't we little man?"

Edward sat in the chair on Carlisle's other side with Donovan as I picked up Owen so he could have a better look. Carlisle looked at my oldest boy with a wistful expression, "You been good for your Momma today, Owen?"

Owen nodded before burying his face in my neck.

Carlisle chuckled, "And how about little Alys? How's my little bug?"

"Poppa," she said in reply, pushing against Lizzie to try and reach for her grandpa.

Carlisle passed Rory to Edward so Lizzie could put Alys in his lap. I watched as my father-in-law played with his grandchildren and had a hard time swallowing the lump in my throat.

I guess it's true what they say – that which does not kill us, only makes us stronger. My family survived an attack from a mad man and Carlisle's cancer. I'm pretty sure at this point we could survive anything.

**EPOV**

I didn't want to go back to work, I would have rather stayed by Dad's side and watched his progress a hawk. But, I guess I'm just going to have to let Mom do that.

And, it turned out I had another thing to worry about – Bella told me she would be accompanying Lizzie to confront Jacob and ask him to leave her alone. I suggested I be the one to tell off Jacob, but both girls vehemently vetoed that idea. So, now my wife would be taking our four youngest kids to Rosalie's for safe keeping, while she and our nanny confront a large, possibly dangerous young man.

I didn't care what Bella said, Jacob has great potential to be violent and dangerous. He's 6-feet, 7-inches of angry, unpredictable male – that's a powder keg just waiting to be set off.

I couldn't help myself, I sat around the office worrying all morning and my new nurse, Lauri, finally smacked some sense into me – so to speak.

"Dr. Cullen, just go," she said. "You don't have another appointment until 2, and you said they're meeting at noon, so go and make sure everything is OK."

I put down the chart I was staring at, but not really reading, and stood up, "You're right. What kind of husband would I be if I let my wife go meet with a guy I don't trust? I'll be back as soon as I can, Lauri. If I'm longer than two o'clock, I'll call you."

She nodded as I took my lab coat off and grabbed my winter jacket from the back of the office. I drove to the deli where they were all meeting and was relieved to see no one was there yet. I sat in the back of the restaurant and waited, hiding in a booth with a hat pulled low on my head.

Suddenly, Bella and Lizzie walked in and sat down at a table near the front. Good, at least they knew to keep close to an exit. They ordered their drinks as Jacob walked in and attempted to greet both ladies with a kiss – neither one responded. That made me more than a little smug.

They chatted for a bit, but when the server came back by with coffees for the girls and a soda for Jacob, Lizzie told the woman they wouldn't be having lunch today. This came as news to Jacob, who said he would like to eat. The waitress seemed to realize she was in the midst of a tense situation and excused herself.

Luckily, there weren't too many people in the deli yet, and I could hear their voices pretty well. Lizzie looked at Bella, who gave her an encouraging nod, and then turned back to Jacob.

"Jake, I'm just here because I don't want to see you anymore, and I'd like it if you'd leave me alone," she said firmly. "Remember, you're the one who broke it off in the first place. And I had to admit, I felt like things had kind of fizzled out, too."

"I didn't break things off because I didn't have feelings for you anymore," he said. "I did it because I thought I wanted something I couldn't have."

He gave Bella a meaningful look that made me want to jump across the restaurant and break him in half.

"Be that as it may, I'm done and I want to move on," Lizzie continued.

"And what brought this on?" He asked, giving Bella an accusing look – I was proud that she didn't seem to cower away from him.

"Please," Lizzie scoffed, "What did you think I was going to do, just sit around and wait for you to come back to me? I've been seeing other guys, Jake; and I think I found a guy I can fall in love with."

Jacob stared at his glass and seethed. I was on edge at that moment, just waiting for him to do something rash. I was surprised, though, when I noticed a tear run down his cheek. He looked back up and his expression had changed; he was sad, but he also seemed resigned.

"I guess I deserve that," he said. "OK, Liz, goodbye then."

Jacob stood and threw some money down on the table. He waved to both and walked out, leaving the girls – and me, for that matter – beyond stunned. That was it? He left just like that? I stared after him for a while, making sure he got in his truck and left – which he did. After his white truck pulled away, I leaned against the back of the booth and let out a sigh of relief.

Suddenly, someone touched my shoulder and scared me out of my reverie.

"Enjoy the show?" Bella asked as she and Lizzie stood next to my booth and smirked at me.

"Well, it wasn't as exciting as I thought it was going to be," I said. "But, it had its moments."

"I'm just glad he took it so well," Lizzie said. "We both just need to get on with our lives."

"Since you two didn't get a chance to eat," I began, "How about you join me?"

"Sure," Bella said. "We're in no hurry to leave anymore."

**OK, that's the end. Hope you all enjoyed it, and thanks for reading!**


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